To Bless or Be Blessed??

Today was a special day.  A few of us from church did something we try to do at this time every year and that is go Christmas caroling to shut-ins.  It started as a home school group event, but spread out to include church members.  Caleb and I missed last year due to some reason or another, but I was determined we would not miss out this year.

Some folks were sick, so the group was a little small this year.  That did not mean that we would not be able to bless others.  Big or small, we can surely bring some smiles to a few faces.  Two adults and five kids piled into my suburban.  First stop was Mrs. S.  She claimed to have had her 90th birthday this year.  We sang a few songs, admired her Christmas decorations, offered hugs and went on our way.  Not before giving her a couple of our goodie bags we'd prepared ahead of time.

Next stop, was Mr. P.  A soft spoken gentlemen, assuredly feeling some sadness this Christmas as he claimed he'd lost his wife since the caroling visit last year.  He smiled sweetly as we sang, made a bit of small talk afterwards and graciously thanked us for our visit.

Here we had a rather, ummm, incident with dog pooh on the bottom of shoes.  No names will be mentioned, but needless to say some giggles were shared as we discovered the culprit, or should I say culprits, cleaned up the best we could and went on our way.  Still giggling on down the road.

We went to see another Mrs. S, but she didn't answer her door so we moved on to the nursing home in Sinton and found Mrs. T. in bed in a room all by herself.  A sweet old woman, who had tears in her eyes at the sight of us in her room, singing and giving her goodies.  Your heart could not do anything but go out to this woman who now spent her days laying flat on her back in bed.   My mind cannot shake this beautiful woman from its thoughts.

We had a few goodie bags left and decided to ask the nurse who would be a good recipient of them.  She shared some names with us, introduced us to a few people, and we again brought smiles to the faces of a generation of people that once used to live independent lives.

I left the nursing home today thinking about the handful of lives we touched and realizing just how much they touched me right back.

Our world is filled with so many people in need.  It's so easy to go about our days, doing our own thing, catching a news story here and there, hearing about people starving or being abused.  Many times we're wishing there was something we could do.  Is the answer right here, in our own back yards?  Or out on the mission field?  I believe the answer is yes to both.  Not all of us will be called to far away places to make a difference, but we are all called to make a difference in some way.

How can we not be too busy to make that difference?  It won't be easy, but I hope to find a way in the year ahead to not forget to make a difference.

This is my command.  Love each other.  John 15:17

One final thought......my proudest moment for today?  My little guy who is normally quite shy and doesn't talk to strangers handed out goodie bags and hugs like a trooper.  In his quiet, reserved way, he realized the need to show love to these special people and he did it without a second thought. 

Oh yes, I feel blessed.  In too many ways to count.