Truly is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive

So very grateful and blessed this holiday season. It's easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of the season, and "forget" that there is a lost and dying world, and that there are so many people in need. Christmas is my favorite time of year (as most of you know), and I kind of go crazy with the trees, decorations, lights, etc. We do it in celebration of who we celebrate and for the love, grace, and mercy Christ has shown us. Today as Dave and I shopped for families in need, we were humbled that we have so much and in a small way that we can help make somebody's Christmas better.

Growing up we didn't have much, but my mom and grandma instilled in us the importance of giving to those in need. One Christmas memory that I will always have is when I was about five. My mom won this huge stocking filled with every cool toy imaginable. I can still see the EZ bake oven, sewing machine, and lite brite as if it were yesterday - plus so many others. I thought I'd struck it rich. But my mom told me that we weren't going to keep those toys - Mike and I couldn't even pick just one out of that stocking. Instead she took us to Childhaven and we gave those children that huge twenty foot stocking (it was probably only five feet). I'll never forget seeing those kids, and not truly grasping or understanding their situation but knowing how much "more" I had compared to them. It doesn't even have to be material items either. We can all give a kind word, a smile, open the door for someone, let someone go in front of you in traffic, in line, or expressing appreciation.

It is truly more blessed to give than receive.