My brother is joining us for Thanksgiving. We are all very excited. Preparations have begun. The floor has officially been christened for the holiday season. We were blessed to truly start the season with a visit to the Good Neighbor Center in Tigard. We've made and delivered pumpkin bread to older neighbors and teachers. Cranberry bread is in the oven and we have the recipes out for Special Pecan Pie - pecan and cranberries, and mom's apple pie. Time to offset the sugar and abundance by helping others.
We'll spend part of tomorrow cooking for Thursday and part of it sewing blankets for children in Shiprock, NM. They need jackets and blankets. Christ the King Parish has many needs. Being located in the poorest diocese in the Unites States. Fr. Dan, the pastor has been called the "beggar" priest because that is how he meets the needs of the parish and the people. There is high unemployment, drug and alcohol problems and the church building itself has been neglected and is need of repairs to keep it safe. The most immediate needs are for warm blankets and coats to distribute to the poor. Men's coats are in the shortest supply. Food and gas vouchers are needed too. These seem to be common needs throughout the country in these tough economic times.
Christmas lists used to be filled with optional items but are being replaced with, "A new job for daddy," "help us not lose our home." They are taking the form of prayers rather than a list of wants for toys and frivolous items advertised on television. Our children are noticing this. We read the stories of real people and families with children that are going through really tough times for the first time ever. They feel a compassion for these "neighbors" and want to help. They talk about it a lot and incorporate it into their pretend play. I hear them saying, "OK, you be at the shelter and we'll bring you a bunch of stuff you need - but we'll just leave it so you can't say thank you because that's not why we do it. OK? - do you understand." The four-year-old nods. Then they switch. They have a big basket of pretend food. They make beautiful baskets of food, toys and blankets for this game. They are so sincere and want to have it just right. It warms our hearts to see this type of play. They truly understand.
Our family is celebrating the Advent season by finding one activity a week that is purely for strangers. Last week we delivered to the Good Neighbor Center, this week, we'll make blankets for Shiprock. Next week - who knows. I think I'll put a few ideas to help those in our surrounding cities into a hat and see what comes up.
Our daughter is looking forward to making a delivery of food to a local food pantry later in December with her Daisy troop. She understands how times have changed and that a lot more people need help. We want to give our children every opportunity to experience the true spirit of the season. We want to instill a season of giving in them and make it our family tradition.
What are your ideas to celebrate the season by helping others? Please post them and include locations.
It's easy to make a difference.
- 3 song downloads are enough to feed a person for two meals.
- That fast food meal for $5 - enough to make 4 blankets from donated fabric to keep a family warm.
- How about that complicated coffee drink? One week's worth can buy enough food to feed a family of four two dinners.
- How about that People Magazine and one fashion magazine on the way out of the grocery store? Breakfasts for a week for a child.
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