the true meaning of Christmas…

I’m tired of talking about myself, so let’s talk a little about the true meaning of Christmas. I received a few emails last night that reminded me of what this holiday is all about: Sharing our hearts. The emails were from two of my closest friends: En and LP. Let’s talk about En’s email first. She works at a homeless shelter and they recently held an event: Homeless Persons Memorial Day. En forwarded me the email from one of her staff, thanking everyone involved. And I know my sweetest En, she made the event shine. But it was so much more than her, something she knows, which is why I love her so. It’s for those less fortunate, without a place to call home: no family to wrap their arms around. They won’t have gifts under a tree but they have people like En, who offers an opportunity to make it right. She gives them hope. Here’s an excerpt from her email. En, I have to see this video, I bet Amazing Grace set to House of Rising Sun was amazing! I am so, so proud of you. You are making a difference: the best Christmas present of all.

For those of you who attended last evening’s Memorial service, you already know what a special evening it was.  For those of you unable to attend, you missed the absolutely best event we have had.  The room was decorated beautifully, the readings were simple and special, the music was of professional quality (how about Amazing Grace sung to the tune of The House of the Rising Sun??!!), and there was standing room only.  I personally just loved the fact that there was such a wide range of candle bearers, from service providers to landlords to police officer.

Thank you so much Adrienne for leading an amazing team – I know I will forget someone so I won’t list everyone – you know who you are!

And now we’ll talk about the email from LP. She’s been experiencing some difficulty at work, and she was talking about giving and what it means to her. After I read her email this morning, it was confirmed: she is such a light. I’m right there with you LP, I also don’t go to Church, but there are plenty of opportunities for us to give on a daily basis. Why limit that to Church once a week. I’m looking forward to spending time with her on Christmas day (we’re both alone for Christmas) and we’re going to prepare a nice dinner, including one of my all-time favs: Honey Baked Ham! And of course Susan is coming over after she returns from her family gathering. A night with my girlfriends, another all-time fav!

If I had to chose my life’s motto, it would be “you get what you give.” And the subtle accusations are the antithesis of that motto. I’ve made it through some very difficult times, literally scraping together change to feed my daughter. I have found that the more I give, the more I get, and not necessarily the monetary “get.” But I don’t “want.” I am not hungry (well, right now I am, but that’s another story!). I am not cold. I have food, shelter, the love of my friends and family, and a Xmas ham coming!

It’s tything, but in a different way. I will not give to the Church anymore. I stopped that long ago. But I also understood that I still had to give back. We all do. We won’t survive if we don’t.