This morning, I asked the girl child what presents she wanted from Santa.
She looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and said, “You know. I don’t really need anything.”
Heart. Warmed.
Tears. Brimming.
Blessings … being counted.
This time of year I do a lot of thinking about wants and needs and giving.
There are many things we want to do. There are even more things we need to do.
And the line between can sometimes become blurry when we think about this season of giving.
From giving thanks to giving gifts; there are lots of needs and lots of wants.
Last year, I wrote about a leap of faith that I became involved with at our little church, called our Giving Tree Angel Tree. To this day, I am still overwhelmed and amazed by the power of saying YES. How so many said YES: I will help. I will give. I will meet a need and fill a want.
Whenever people come into this little church that I have talked about before…this little church in this little town doing big things, they always remark that the building is so much bigger than they thought it was; so much bigger than it appears on the outside.
Well, just like the building, this church is doing bigger things than most people realize. Bigger things that might seem…impossible even.
Bigger things that make me a little nervous sometimes. Bigger things that challenge me. Bigger things that push my faith.
Bigger things that make me walk around mumbling my new mantra….”Fishes and loaves. Fishes and loaves.”
I’ll be honest. Sometimes the mission of helping others, of meeting needs and filling wants seems so huge to me. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that need help. Sometimes I feel like we can’t take on more, even though the phones are still ringing with requests for help. Sometimes I worry that we won’t be able to make a gift appear for every child.
‘Fishes and Loaves. Fishes and Loaves.”
This is what this little church in this little town doing big things…does. It meets needs. It fills wants. It does bigger things.
So during this season of giving, this is the challenge that we all need to try to accomplish. We, as we are able, have to try to meet needs and fill wants.
So again, this year, I said, “Yes.”
There are angels on a tree. Angels of families that come to the local Food Pantry on Friday nights.
If you are willing and able to help others this season, then I challenge you to…
Take action. Help others.
Do bigger things in giving this year.
If you would like to help our Angel Tree efforts, here is an online link for donations:
https://secure.easychurchtools.com/fieldstoneumc/
100% of donations will go toward Angel Tree gifts. I will do the shopping for you … for them.
As of right now, there are still 49 kiddos on the tree.
Which makes me walk around, mumbling and praying and believing…
“Fishes and loaves. Fishes and loaves.”
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