The holidays are surrounded by giving opportunities. When you go to the store you can’t miss the Salvation Army Bell ringers, the giving trees, the bin collecting can food and toys. You’ve got to be blind and deaf not to feel all those bleeding hearts around you. Families have different traditions during the holiday seasons. Some volunteer to work at soup kitchens. Others spend all the money they might otherwise spend on gifts for the family on a family in needs. And some may have so much that they have a lavish dinner for themselves and provide a second for a family in need.
I grew up in a family where we made all of our holiday gifts. As a child we would spend our Christmas Vacation in New York at my paternal Grandparents house. This was a big ordeal for our family that would take months of prep work. During our trip we would see many friends and family and my mom would make gifts for every family. Some of the gifts I recall her making were: geese that were also bread baskets, jointed teddy bears, woven pot holders, and another year she made these wooden carvings that said Shalom. Each gift took a lot of time and a lot of love went into each hand made gift. It wasn’t till I got married that I learned that not all families made gifts. This was a big shock to me. This was my favorite part of the holidays. I love making personalized gifts for family and friends.
While I was married one year we spent the money we would of otherwise spent on gifts on a family who was having a new baby. While I was married we never exchanged Christmas gifts. I’m not sure it was something we really talked about, but since it was our own money we were spending it just didn’t seem to make sense. When we needed something or wanted something we just bought it. We never felt the need to buy each other gifts.
I know of youth groups that spend the holidays down in Mexico building houses. This is a wonderful opportunity to bond as a group as you all caravan down to Mexico and then to spend time serving others. I’ve never had this opportunity, but someday I hope to be able to participate.
I’ve always wanted to visit a Kibbutz and spend time working on one. Many of them host youth groups for a month at a time on a work exchange program. My dad’s side of the family is Jewish and I would love to learn more about our heritage.
For now I will stick with helping out the people I know and love. As much as those people abroad need my help. I am also very aware of those people in my own back yard that need assistance. There are so many opportunities to serve via spiritual, physically, emotionally and economically. For me it’s really rewarding to see results. At the same time it can also be very disappointing after you put so much time, effort, and money into something and the results aren’t what you had anticipated. That may be one reason some people rather help people they don’t know. They never see what happens to the money or food they give. This can help prevent them from feeling animosity. That is a chance I take. I do my best to choose wisely what, where, and whom I serve. My giving doesn’t always produce the results I have hoped, but I at least I know I did all I could and then it’s up to them to do the rest.
Most of the giving during the holiday season can be seen in the form of food, gifts, and money. During these economic times this is a real necessity. There are many who are struggling to obtain the bear necessities of life. At the same time there are others who are just as much in need, but their needs aren’t as apparent. There are those who are in need of a friend. The holiday season is a time that brings back floods of memories and for those that lost a love one the holidays can be a very trying time for them as they once again grieve their loss. There are those that are depressed and as they look around them and see all these happy people around them it may cause them to feel more down. There are those that are spiritually lost looking for their purpose in life, wondering why they were born and where they are going. So as we are celebrating this holiday season with family and friends, let’s be aware of those around us that are feeling less fortunate then us.
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