Thankfulness~ Day 22~ Charity I am thankful that the act of charity was taught to me by example. I look forward each year at this time to hear the Salvation Army bells at the kettle & like a little kid, always make sure I have change, coming & going, & get that warm, fuzzy feeling when I drop those coins! I have stood kettle many cold hours, years ago & that gave me an even better feeling. When I was growing up, there were no homeless shelters or places where women & children could be safe in a domestic violence situation. Our house became both. I know of several young unmarried mothers, who stayed months at our house until their babies were born. So when I hear that phrase Charity begins at home it has a different meaning for me. Because Mom worked for the Salvation Army, our Christmas never started until every family had food & every child had a toy. Looking back, I can only imagine how tired she was during the holidays however... When I was about 7, & we were getting ready to leave her office on Christmas Eve afternoon when a North Georgia Sheriff called to say that a large family had lost their home in a fire. Mom took names, ages, sizes & we gathered up clothes, coats, shoes & toys. Added a huge box of food & household items & headed out nearly to the Tennessee line several hours away. The one thing I wanted more than anything in the world was a white Christmas & to go home. I cant remember a whole lot but there were lots of kids, Christmas carols on an old pump organ, a hot pot-bellied stove & some warm soup in a small country church where the family was staying. The kids were excited, their parents were grateful & as we were leaving it had started to snow. My parents had to be exhausted but we sang Christmas Carols until I finally went to sleep. When we finally got home, no snow but Santa came, we ate Christmas breakfast & talked about the other family, being very thankful for our home. Mom truly believed it was better to give than receive... and I am thankful for those lessons she taught me.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 01:38:59 +0000
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