Tis the season

Where in the world have I been?  Last blog entry is dated 11/02/07!  Oh yeah.  I even mentioned it in my last blog.  KoD4 finally blessed us with its presence. 

I would be remiss if I didn't blog something about the holidays.  It is a special time of year for me.  I get to see family.  Spend more time with the wifey.  Bla bla bla.  Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate those things.  Thanksgiving and/or Christmas are pretty much the only times I get to see my sister now days.  And I truly do appreciate that. 

The holidays mean something very different to me now days, though.  As with everyone, it was always "PRESENTS!!!!" for many years for me.  My birthday is 11 days after Christmas.  So this time of year always meant "LOTS OF PRESENTS!!!!!!".  In the past few years that has changed a great deal for me.  I still have that same internal reaction of excitement about "PRESENTS!!!!!!", but now it is a little different.  I am more excited about the presents I get to give, versus those that I get.  And more than that, the presents I get to arrange.  Doing the work I do, I have had to work very hard over the course of several weeks making sure the kids my agency cares for have a very good Christmas.  It is great to see the looks on their faces when they see how much they get.  It really is uplifting.  What is better, though, is seeing the generosity of others.

I read cnn.com every morning.  It really does get depressing sometimes.  But, for whatever reason, I still do it.  This world truly is a bad place some days.  But, there are good people in it.  Right now we have 27 kids in placement with our agency.  All 27 of them are going to have a very good Christmas.  That is only because there are some very very generous people in our area.  We have had well over $2000 dollars in cash and items donated for our kids for Christmas.  This is the only Christmas these kids will have.  The few that do have family they can visit, won't get much, if anything, from their families.  If not for the generosity of our donors, they would have no Christmas.  It is amazing how good people can be.  It just makes me want to cry some times.  It is a stark realization of how truly blessed I am.  Not because all the material things I have.  Not because I have a wonderful wife.  Not because I have such a great family.  Not because all the wonderful people I've met through the Duty.  But because I have the opportunity to be a part of changing the life of a child.  I think I make a difference.  I hope and pray I make a difference.  At least in the life of one child.  If not that, I know, that for at least one Christmas, and despite all that these kids have been through at the hands of people that supposedly "love" them, they saw that people can be good.  They saw the love of Christ through some very good people. 

Tis the season...