Blessings

"This confounded zipper," I think every time I step out into the cold Iowa winter. I cannot zip up my coat because the little thing-a-ma-bob that pulls the zipper broke off awhile back. It frustrates me every time I have to put on the stupid coat. Why not just get another? Trust me, I've looked. Everything I've found either doesn't fit right, costs too much or just isn't very attractive. Because I don't have the budget to be a clothes hound, there are two things I wear until the "tires fall off"...coats & shoes. When I buy either, the item in question better fit right, feel comfortable and wear well because it will be awhile before I buy again. Besides the coat I have now is a popular, expensive (supposedly) top-of-the-line winter coat. It isn't a department store cheapo or anything. I had to purchase it during an after-Christmas sale because the regular price was way out of my league. Even the sale price was high, but again I figured I would have it forever. What I didn't count on was that the zipper pull would break off after a couple seasons. I've tried twine, ribbon and safety pins as alternatives, but the zipper is strong enough that the aforementioned items eventually break. I'm not much of a tailor; otherwise, I'd replace the entire zipper. (I'm not even sure if I could find a zipper for the dumb thing.) So I've basically given up...and still I complain. That is the beauty of me. HA!

Aside from cold temps, this time of year is enjoyable for me. I enjoy giving special presents, making those once-a-year cookies and spending time with family and friends. The temp outside is below zero, but inside the house is filled with warm laughter and memories. Yep, that's for me. I love, love, love Christmas.

Which is why the looming holiday this year made me sad. In my heart, I know that we don't need to spoil our girls with stuff. They have enough stuff littering our house already! But the idea of really watching our pennies and limiting what we can give them makes me feel bad. It's stupid, I know. As Christmas got closer, the more I felt down. I decided to change that by force if necessary.

This year, I made a paper chain for the girls with each day of December written on the outside and a special activity written on the inside. Every day leading up to Christmas Day, we remove a chain and find out what the daily "surprise" is. Some things are fun like watching the Charlie Brown Christmas movie or painting our nails. Some things are family-oriented like having lunch with our extended family or sending the annual Christmas cards. Some things are in the true spirit of Christmas such as donating food to the food pantry or sending a care package to a deployed service person. Even at this young age, I feel it's important for the girls to understand that Christmas is not all about Santa and gifts. It's about Jesus and thinking of others first. In reality, that sentiment should reflected all year round...but especially now. I want them to learn that it's better to give than to receive. Ray is starting to understand. Jordi is a little too young, but you can never start too young, right?

Throughout the last few weeks as I prepared for these little acts of kindness, God helped me truly understand just how blessed our family is. Even though the future is uncertain and we have every reason to worry about tomorrow, we need to give thanks for where we're at today. We have shelter. We have clothes. We have food. We have extras, and this year we have enough to buy Christmas presents. And we have great family & friends, love and peace.

Have you ever really stopped to think about the fact that some people have none of those things...the things necessary for survival? Within our own borders there are thousands of families that do not have a home or good clothes or enough to eat. Now look outside our borders. The problem is much, much worse! In this country, we have family, friends, churches, government or homeless shelters, food pantries and medical clinics to help those who are in need. In other parts of the world, no such options exist.

Our church sends a team of people to an impoverished area of town twice a week to interact with refugees from other countries. A few weeks ago, someone noticed one of the kids who had shoes but no socks. And a lot of the kids had no mittens, hats or warm coats. I don't know if you've ever experienced a Midwestern winter, but it can get bloody cold!!! Not having those items is unthinkable! Our team jumped into action by organizing a drive to collect the items needed for the kids.

Our family recently heard about another family (unknown to us) that is really struggling. The mother has six kids...four teenagers and two younger ones. The father just walked out on them, and the mother is in school. So they don't have a lot of money. The mother didn't even have enough money for the laundromat, and her washer/dryer was broken. Christmas, as we know it, wasn't in the cards for them this year. One of our church members knows this family and called the church to see if anyone could help out. We decided to participate with some others to collect a few things that will make their holiday more enjoyable.

Keep in mind, it's less than a week before Christmas. Our Christmas budget has been blown, so we don't have much money left to put towards this. But I felt so strongly that we show our thanks by giving anyway. It's about more than just giving thanks to God; it's about showing that thanks through action. Quite honestly, we've been blessed beyond understanding. It's our duty to extend a helping hand to those who are much worse off than we are. Even though hubby is on unemployment, and I work only part-time, there are many more out there who are much worse off than we are. Even though we don't have a lot, there are many more out there who have nothing. This Christmas has taught me that no matter how bad it gets for us, someone else is going through much worse. I am SO thankful to a God who had provided for our every need, and I have no reason to doubt that promise in the future...even though I don't know exactly what that will look like.

So instead of inwardly complaining about my stupid broken zipper, I thank God that my coat is very warm and that it has snaps. I use the snaps to keep out the cold. Someone out there does not have a coat that's warm enough at all. I thank God for my gazillionth spaghetti dinner because someone out there has only a piece of bread & peanut butter to eat. I thank God for my ancient car because someone out there doesn't have one. I thank God for my small, warm house because someone out there has to live in a homeless shelter with (sometimes) scary people.

Instead of a question, this time I have a challenge for you. In the New Year (or maybe a little earlier), the next time you grumble about having a better this-or-that or you whine that you don't have the latest phone, car or whatever, think about the person out there who doesn't have enough of the necessities for survival. Over the years, I've heard many say that everyone should break out of their own "little bubble" and travel to different places around the world to develop a more broad-minded perspective. Usually when that's said, the person is referring to developed, modern parts of the world. My suggestion would be that everyone should have to travel to a third-world country to see the definition of survival lived out every day. Maybe then all of us would finally be satisfied with the fact that we are truly blessed.

It's imperative that we teach these same concepts to our children. If all we do is spoil them with stuff, they grow up expecting more stuff. And they have absolutely no compassion for others who don't have enough of the stuff that we all must have. These children grow up to be entitled, selfish and totally heartless to the needs of others. Children learn what they live. So do our future generations a favor and live out the concept of gratitude in action by helping someone who is less fortunate than yourself. Thank you!