My church does a project we call Share the Joy where we sponsor families for Christmas. The children get clothes, socks, underwear, some toys and other activities, and the family gets a food gift card. We have a big party where the kids can play in the gym while their parents get to look over and wrap their presents. It's really a neat project, and our church just loves it!
This morning, while I was out shopping for some last minute things for Share the Joy, my cell phone rang. It was our office manager, and she said that Abbi and Tate were in the office. Abbi is 5 and Tate, her little brother, is 3. They had emptied out their piggy bank last night and wanted to do something for another kid with the money they had. When Nancy called me, Abbi and Tate wanted to know which child they should buy a toy for. I asked Nancy what they had, and she said they had about $50.00 in change they wanted to give.
I was speechless.
In a country where children are right now eating veggies they hate, and being super-nice to their siblings in hopes of getting "a lot of good stuff" from Santa, Abbi and Tate emptied their pennies to give to someone else.
Do we really have to wonder what Jesus meant when he told us we needed to become like the children?
Thank you, Abbi and Tate, for changing my Christmas today.
Love,
Erin
5 comments:
Thank you for sharing the story. It is so beautiful that kids are so unselfish and thoughtful sometimes. It blows me away.
I was grumbling about fighting the crowds in Wal-Mart ... at 7:30 ... in the cold ... for a pint of milk. The Salvation Army ringers were a group of teenagers giving up their Friday night to night to volunteer. After I dropped my money into the kettle and rushed away to my car, I heard these kids calling out to me and other shopper, "Merry Christmas! Jesus loves you!" Tears sprang to my eyes because a few teenagers just reinspired my Christmas season.
Thanks for a wonderful story for the season.
What a beautiful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
Thanks for sharing! It is nice to hear about 2 unselfish kiddos during a season when many children are only focused on themselves.
i knew that abby and tate were great kids from my contact with them. their parents have done an incredible job raising such generous kids. thanks for the story.
That's awesome!
Post a Comment