A couple weeks I felt a calling to ask our family to change up our normal Christmas tradition of getting together on Christmas Eve and exchanging presents. We felt a stirring in our hearts to help a family in need and buy gifts for kids rather than ourselves. When I brought up the idea to my family, they all immediately jumped on board thought it was a fabulous idea…it never occurred to us to do this kind of thing and seemed a little ironic considering the fact that every year we never really know what to buy for each other and to be honest, the act of gift buying for each other doesn’t have a ton of meaning anyway…it’s the “getting together” part that actually has value.
Through the help of LRF and Sharon Moores with Olive Crest we got connected with a single mom who had 3 girls, ages 3, 5 and 8. So with the help of my family including my sister and her 3 girls, ages – 3, 5 and 8 we rallied together to make this mom and her daughters, a wonderful Christmas to remember. We drove down to this family’s home and we could tell from the beginning that this mom needed a break in life and we felt incredibly blessed to add some smiles to their home.
One of the biggest parts of this blessing was the opportunity to teach my 3 nieces a lesson in giving and perspective. Although they may not have understood the totality of it, we were able to plant a seed in their developing hearts towards others who are hurting.
Thank you for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of a family this Christmas.
Mike Friedrich