About 3 years ago, on Christmas Eve, a friend of mine organized a “church service”, including music, to take place at the local Men’s shelter. 60 or 70 guys packed the place, and I saw tears on almost all of the faces during the service.

I watched both of my kids, (then about 5 and 7 years old) sit amidst the men and sing. Men with tired, haggard faces. Men who most of the rest of society had, for all intents and purposes, “written off.” Men who probably had no families, much less even a place to call Home. Men who came up afterwards and shook my kids’ hands,..probably the only interaction that some of them had had with young kids in a long time.

And the smiles that lit up their faces was priceless.

What did we miss to do this? Not much. We had to cut a family party short, and therefore missed about 1 hour of my family’s Christmas “extravaganza.” An overabundance of gifts and food.

The experience and “life lesson” that my kids came away with, too, was also worth it. As a matter of fact, if I had it all to do over again, we would have probably skipped the family party altogether and spent more time there.

I haven’t done as much as I should lately for those in need. This used to be a lifestyle with our family, but we’ve gotten away from it lately, in the so-called “busyness” of our lives.

But think about it, what would it really take, timewise and financially, to give to those who don’t have much?

What would it really take to pick up a dozen donuts and some hot coffee and drop them off to that homeless guy who’s always hanging out on the same street corner on your way to work?

What would it really cost to pick up a few sweatshirts/coats from Walmart (or even your local thrift store) and keep them in your trunk, knowing that you’ll eventually run into someone that needs them?

How much time would it REALLY take to volunteer to help with dinner sometime at the local soup kitchen?

Would you really miss that daily Starbucks if you took that $5.00 instead and bought a McDonald’s gift card and kept it in your wallet for the next time you ran into some tired-looking single mom, with 3 kids in tow, who looked like they could use it?

How many pairs of jeans do you own? How many do you actually wear? I used to work for a Mission that distributed furniture/clothing to the needy, and we used to practically BEG for men’s jeans, there was such a demand, and they were so scarce!

Socks that we consider “worn out” (and probably throw away) beats having NO SOCKS if you sleep on the street, and most men usually double-up and wear two pairs anyhow. What if you went one step further and picked up a 12-pack of NEW socks, for about $5-$6, and dropped them off at your local men’s/women’s shelter?

How many blankets do you have in your hall closet? How many throw-blankets are on your couch right now?

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I guess my point is, most of us have a lot of possessions that we take for granted (myself included). Most of us don’t wonder where our next meal will come from. Instead, we open the freezer at dinner time, and try to decide which of the dozens of packs of meat to thaw out for dinner.

Now try, just for a minute, to imagine what it would be like to have to wonder where you are going to sleep tonight, knowing it’s going to sleet/rain. Imagine if you didn’t know what your next meal would be, much less where it would come from. Imagine what it would feel like if you were outdoors right this minute (currently 35 degrees) and your shoes/socks were soaked completely through.

I just wish I did more. That’s my mission, and I pray that it will be yours, also.

Dusty

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Matthew 25:35-40

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ’Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

And the King will answer them, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’