During this festive season there has always been an unexplainable change in the way people spend their time. Some wish they had a lot more time as they turn into work-a-hallics. some wish for more cheer as they enjoy spreading the joy of the season. Then there are those who just wish the season would hurry up and past them by. This wish list post is meant to be used to help spread unconditional love through random acts of kindness.
Let me tell you a story and I will try to make it as short as I can. It is about how I've spent the starting of the holidays since 1987. I was working extra hours on the night shift at a mail order warehouse. I had recently witnessed my first grandchild being born and would now be able to buy toys for him. I wanted to make sure I had enough money to at least get everyone at least one gift. It soon was December 23rd as I hurried home from work an hour early. I showered and slipped slowly into bed trying not to wake my husband because he would be getting up for work in about 5 hours. Before I closed my eyes good I heard a voice say, "Go now and make my people some gifts." I was compelled without even questioning the voice to go and look through my craft supplies to see what I could make. I sat at my kitchen table with beads and wire spread across the table, as my hands were busy making these tiny beaded cross necklaces. When my husband got ready to leave for work the morning of the 24th, I was still sitting there making the necklaces. He came to tell me he was leaving for work and to remind me that we had promised a friend we would go to midnight mass with her so she would not have to go alone. It would be the first time we did this because we had not been to church since we lived back east. I was so busy that I didn't even notice that the time had gone by so quickly. My husband asked if I had been there all night and just what was I making. I told him that I had to make God's people gifts and take them to the homeless shelter. He told me to make sure I take a nap so that we could get an early start when he got off from work. As I began wrapping each necklace I told him I would be ready.
By noon I had wrapped the last one. I had created more than one thousand beaded cross necklaces and wrapped them smaller than a quarter. I was still not tired, in fact I was totally energized as if I had slept all night. I had 40 dollars left of my pay check. I decided to run to the dollar store and get some stuff for children. I got 20 dollars worth of trucks that came 4 in a pack and 20 dollars worth of baby dolls that came 3 in a pack with little bottles. I hurried back home tore the packs open and began wrapping each item separately. Once I was finished wrapping everything I now had 3 big shopping bags load of stuff to take to the shelter.
Once Phil and I were dressed for the evening events we headed to the shelter first, and yes, I still had not slept. It was a really cold, windy night. We kept ringing the bell and knocking on the door of the shelter, yet the people inside seemed as though they could not hear us. We could see them through the window talking but no one even looked our way. Where we were at, you could see up and down the street for at least a mile or more in any direction. We knocked again and suddenly a voice said, "Are you trying to get inside. " We turned to see this big black man who was very poorly dressed but there was something about him that made you feel good. He was big like Santa Clause but about 40 years of age dressed in a gray tattered coat and gloves with holes in them. He said, " Wait right there I'll get someone to open the door for you. " He hurried down to the next entrance but we didn't see him go in because he was right back there with us saying, "Some one will come now. You wouldn't happen to have a sandwich in one of your bags." Phil said, " Sorry not this time". The man smiled and said, " That's ok, just thought I would ask. As he turned to walk away I called him back. I reached in the bag and handed him one of the necklaces. He said, " For me, it is beautiful" Phil then said, " She has been making them all night." I then said, " I wish it could be more." The man said, " Thank you, it is not the amount but the thought that matters. I will treasure this gift always because you gave from your heart. Have a wonderful Christmas and God be with you always." Just then the door opened. We looked away for just a split second and then looked back to say thank you to the guy but he was gone. We looked up and down the street but there was no sign of him and there was no way he could have walked away that fast without us seeing him from any direction. After giving the bags to the shelter we left to met our friend and we both were filled with a joy that went past anything we had ever experienced before and it came from just speaking to that homeless man.
As the new year rolled around I made a new years resolution to take any extra change I would have left from my pay check after helping pay the bills to go and get blankets and coats at the thrift store. By the time it was December 24th again I had enough coats and blankets to fill the back of our truck. We took them down to the area where homeless people stay on the streets. We saw a police man and asked him if there were any needy people on the street that needed coats and blankets and he told us just where to find the people sleeping on cardboard boxes in the street and building door ways. We went up to the people wishing them a Merry Christmas while giving them a coat and blanket to help keep them warm.
Year after year I continued doing this and in the fourth year my son and his wife asked to help out. His wife won an already cooked turkey and ham from the restaurant where she worked and since we were all vegetarians we carved up the mead and made tons of sandwiches to take to the homeless. My daughter was not able to come with us so she brought us cups, and made hot cider and hot coco for us to take to give the people. When we had given everything away, we went home singing Christmas Carols. My son and his wife said it was the best Christmas ever and wanted to help out again.
We continued doing this for almost ten years. One year we spent volunteering serving out food at the Salvation Army Center that feeds the needy. The year before we moved to Flagstaff, I wanted other people to feel the joy we felt in giving. I started saving the bottle caps off of water gals and milk gals. By the time Christmas season was upon me, I had several hundred of the caps. I cut the ridges off and filed the plastic flat. I then painted angels on one side and the words, " An angel for your pocket " on the other. I handed out the bottle caps to anyone and everyone especially if I saw a person really stressed out. I would smile and hand the cap to them saying" Merry Christmas here's an angel for your pocket". They would take the cap and smile back while putting it in their pocket. Some people even asked for an extra one to share with a friend. It was a way of keeping the unconditional love going.
Once we moved to Flagstaff, I no longer worked because we lived outside of the city limits and I didn't drive. Any money I made selling my crafts or one of my books I would use the money to get school supplies to send each year to the children on the reservation. Sometimes I didn't even have money to buy my own family anything but I made sure I got the school supplies to send. Within the pass three years I've taken what little money I had and brought dolls and trucks and shipped them to the program called "A Smile of a child" for Christmas.
Comment by Rainbow Warrior Mariah: Make someone in need smile for Holiday Season, share the love. It does not have to cost you anything, you can make something using recycled paper or other materials that you would thrown away anyway.
Here are websites with ideas:
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/recycling-crafts/index.shtml
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/craftsbyproduct/a/trashcrafts.htm
http://www.make-stuff.com/hollidays/christmas.html
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/toppicks/tp/recycleprojects.htm