Christmas presents

Either I'm verbose, or the rest of you are just quiet.

That being said....

Today was very interesting. I was preparing my presentation (as on a table, not to the congregation) for our gift giving to the township. All of a sudden it hit me that there are people who will not have the money for Christmas. And we have the privelege of allowing families to have Christmas. God is so awesome.

In the past, I was part of Christmas in Camden. We got all dressed up in our Christmas sweaters and Santa hats and walked throughout the blocks in North Camden that we'd adopted, and we gave away presents to the kids and food to the adults. I absolutely loved every minute of those frigid days. I enjoyed wrapping the presents beforehand. I love to give, so that part of me was fulfilled.

What we are doing now is a bit more meaningful for me...for where I am now and for where I'm going. We are giving anonymously, and we are giving the families the autonomy to buy what they would like their children to have. We are giving them the power to choose whatever Christmas dinner means to them.

I've heard the saying over and over: give someone a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach someone to fish, and he'll eat for the rest of his life. I know that technically we're giving away fish. But, we're allowing these families to have dignity as well. Besides...is that whole fish thing in the Bible anyway? I can't seem to recall seeing it. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will let me know.

I'm not insulting what other people are doing. I just know that I would be mortified if someone showed up on my doorstep with a box of food and some gifts for my kids, no matter how desperately I needed the food.

Isn't it interesting how God works in different ways in different places, yet somehow meets the same needs? If you feed the poor...If you give clothing to the naked...If you give water to the thirsty...