I wanted to take the opportunity today to share with you something that I wrote when I was 17. Every time I look back on things I wrote in the past, I’m grateful that my writing style has changed and my writing skills have improved… however, I think these things are still worth reminiscing and reflecting.
December 20, 2005
Wow, what a day.
I went to the Salvation Army at 8:30 this morning. I left the Salvation Army at 7 tonight. That’s over 10 hours… Wow. It went fast. I’m tired.
In going, I had the hope that I would have opportunities to bless people (well, that was pretty much guaranteed). I also hoped I would be able to speak some Spanish.
Imagine yourself as a parent of four kids. You don’t have much money to spend normally, much less buy Christmas gifts. You already feel bad, sort of like a failure because it’s only a few days until Christmas and your kids don’t know if they’re getting any gifts. You’re carrying a green confirmation card that has a number on it. You walk into the Salvation Army gym and hand them the card. They check of your name on about five different pieces of paper, then hand a volunteer your information sheet as well as a card that says “5-6 people, turkey, 2 pie crusts.” As you walk around with the bag-carrying volunteer, you choose a teddy bear for each child. You then choose from over 800 toys (everything is new), two for each of your kids. Then you get to find a little stuffed animal and a stocking stuffer (a choice of over 2000 little toys). You then find new clothes for your kids, as well as hat and mittens. They offer to wrap your gifts for you while you pick out a homemade quilt. As you walk out with your gifts and supplies, the volunteer hands your card to a man who follows you to your car with a box of food and a large turkey.
Imagine how this feels. You feel one of two ways:
–You expect that you should be able to choose more and are a little bothered by the fact that they don’t have more toys to choose from.
–You are humbled by what you’ve been given, without having to pay anything, and you gratefully accept what has been given to you.
Today, I met so many cool people. I feel bad for those who feel the first way. They try to take advantage of the system. It’s sad. However, the majority of the people are the second ones. They are so grateful.
I met two little girls who spoke Spanish. It was so cute! One was 11 (Rebecca) and the other was 7 (Carina). They switched between English in Spanish several times within one sentence. They used many words from both languages, it was very funny. They told a story about their grandma’s dog who had puppies, then the puppies died. The dog was hungry, so it ate the girl’s rabbit. Then it choked on a bone and the dog died too! I thought it was hilarious…
There were a lot of cool volunteers there, too.
Hmm. Thinking back to the two different types of people…
I think that’s often how Christians are. Many Christians (particularly those who have grown up “Christian” and not really known what it was like to be in the world) are a little bothered by the fact that life isn’t a “bed of roses” as a believer. They’re a little upset about what they cannot do.
That’s not how it’s supposed to be. We must recognize that we have been given a gift that we could never afford. We’ve been given it freely. Do we have any choice but to be grateful? We’ve been given the most priceless gift.
Anyway, it was a fun day. I’m tired!