"Write it down, when I have perished:
Here is everything I've cherished;
That these walls should glow with beauty
Spurred my lagging soul to duty;
That there should be gladness here
Kept me toiling, year by year...
Every thought and every act
Were to keep this home intact."
Start Quote
Tonight is my favorite night of the year.
In this quiet moment, Simple Abundance is not a philosophy
but reality perfected.
My heart is full of gratitude;
striving for simplicity in our holiday obligations has preserved my sanity;
order has kept all the moving parts moving;
a sense of harmony has emerged because I finally stopped
long enough to balance work and family at least for the holidays;
beauty surrounds me in the festive decorations throughout the house,
now illuminated and intensified with the glow of candles and a cozy fire;
and joy, the child of laughter and contentment has arrived,
the guest of honor at our festive family feast...
I look up to find a bright star;
is it the Star?
It is to my eyes.
I'm freezing.
Now it's impossible on this holy night not to think of the homeless...
Two thousand years ago another homeless family depended on a stranger's charity. They didn't find any until an ordinary, harried, exhausted woman stopped long enough to feel her heart tug. Mine now tugs with guilt; that a basket and presents were dropped off earlier this afternoon to a shelter salves the sting a bit, but I'm disappointed and saddened that I didn't, don't, do more. I will next year, I promise. Sometimes I keep those well-intentioned promises, sometimes real life distracts me from Real Life...
And the astonishing gifts to rival heaven?
Everywhere I look.
But the best one is that now I can truly see them.
End Quote
There are a lot of laws regarding the homeless, I couldn't find a good concise website in less than a minute, but I do know a few things for sure. If you want to help the homeless, the best way to do it is to help the shelters, because the people that want help will go there. Also, it is illegal to panhandle? It's definitely illegal to give them money. Robbie had a class on the homeless when he did Leadership Fresno, and there was a lot of bad stuff. He told me that you have to be very careful because there are drugs, sex trafficking, unchecked mental illness, you shouldn't just try and go into tent city and try and be a saint.
In my opinion, the best thing you can do is to see them as people.
People who are sick, people who are lost, people who are down on their luck. We have two friends who are in some type of homeless program trying to get clean and back on their feet.
I was at the Taco Bell next Rotary Park and there were a lot of homeless people around, some of them scary looking. While my back was turned trying to help my kids in the car, someone approached me and asked my for change. The first thought that I had was to brush them off, but then I thought that this was just a person, and what would I want someone to do if our roles were reversed. I didn't have any change, but I did have the most delicious oranges and a bottle of water. I said Merry Christmas.
Let's all try and be the inn keeper
who would let Mary and Joseph stay in the stable...
Matthew 25
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visitedme: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, preparedfor the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
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Gratitude Journal
***
1) Christmas Eve dinner at Nana's. Amazing!
2) Giving and getting presents. For the first time in a long time I'm so excited to have gift cards! I can't wait to go shopping!
3) Getting to do the nativity with the kids.
4) A warm fire.
5) It's Christmas Eve. The most humbling night of the year.
6) I'm so grateful for this year and the journey that I've taken to being authentic. There was a little family drama, and I was able to just brush it off. I know that I was well-intentioned, that I was only meaning to share love, and that they created hate out of thin air. I feel really sorry for them, I hope that they can find peace. Even if I can't be part of their life (even though we're sealed together...family for eternity...), I hope that they find happiness. And they obviously don't want us in their life, so we will just honor their wishes even though we would love to be part of their lives.
It's nice, feeling sad and angry, and then letting it go and being at peace with the reality I've been given and made.
