OUR DUTY TO SERVE… A GIFT OF GOODNESS
Christmas is creeping up, almost a week away! The spirit of giving is in full action. I know I have spent the last few weeks every day online trying to grab the best deals on the gifts I am going to be giving to close family and friends. There is pressure around this time of year. I feel it. I always feel like I could do more/give more and that there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything I need done. Probably because I wake up late- but I need my eight hours…. I digress. It’s nice that this time of year people are more generous, more aware, more in the spirit. But as usual I wonder if we couldn’t take that same spirit/attitude and apply it to our every day lives no matter what the season. Giving is nice- but more often than not the most valuable gifts aren’t tangible. It’s the simple act of helping a stranger, neighbor, friend- or doing what you can for someone- to help- to serve. I’ve always had an open door/open phone policy- if you call me…you need something, I can help…I will do what I can. I’ve been judged plenty of times for this and told, “why are you helping so and so?” My answer is always, “why, not? Sometimes, you have a split second to make a decision of whether you will run away or whether you will run to a person in need. We are all human- we don’t live in vacuums- we live in communities, we live surrounded by other people that are just like us. And one day there could be an unexpected day where you could be in need. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that you had someone to call or lean on? Wouldn’t it be nice to know that you had someone in your corner to help…Free of judgments- just for the sake of helping? Building solid relationships and solid communities comes from our ability to serve and be there for one another.
Having said that, this morning I was watching the news and came across this interesting segment on CBS Sunday Morning Show that you can see below:
I can tell you that any one of us could have been one of those strangers walking passed Moses, the homeless man, who just wanted to be heard and was delivering something beyond money to those that would stop. As Moses said in the video, “today we changed a lot of people’s lives, but I believe my life was changed the most.” When you serve one another, when you give to one another it has the power to do a lot of good. Good that the world needs. Good that our communities, neighbors, relatives, and friends need. As the video continues the message is clear, “kindness is a bridge between all people.”
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!! See you in 2019
