As you know there was snow across much of the United States, last week. Late one evening when it was snowing a friend left work early to get home before the heavy snows started to hit. His wife left her job only a half hour later. She was not so fortunate. It had already started snowing. The roads were slick and she slid into another car.
She was alright physically. But the damages to her car was close to $3,000. Their car insurance has a $500 deductible. It has been a rough couple years for then with the recession and medical bills. There was not much money in savings for Christmas since having to put out $500 for the insurance deductible to get their car fixed!
I know for myself there has been Christmas’s that were no so Christmas because of lost of job or unexpected expenses. Christmas plans get thrown out the window. Then there is a scramble to make the best of bad situation.
This Thanksgiving as we set and watched Santa Claus take up his traditional end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I was shocked to hear Ms T express her quite grown up view of Santa Claus.
“He is just some old man who put on a red suit and has a white beard glued to his face. Why should anyone believe in Santa? I am smarter than that!” were the words that came out of her mouth in such a condescending tone.
After her mother and I recovered from hearing such words, we started talking about what we are going to do this Christmas. The idea of hiding presents under the Christmas tree Christmas night seemed to be a meanless event for us this year.
We have really been blessed this Holiday season. So far we have only had one surprises expense. It was a fundraiser purchase of cookie dough. This is for Ms T’s school PTO.
We are not big are giving a lot of Christmas presents to a lot of people. Immediate family gets something. Until this year that is about all we could afford.
Looking around there is a lot of families that are less fortunate. Some are without work. Some are just struggling to get from one pay check to the next.
Then looking are the organizations that need our help so they can help others. The Salvation Army is the big one. Then other churches has their own fundraising drive. The local food bank is always helping people this time of the year. We do contribute to these one or more of these organizations.
Many, many, many years ago, the best Christmas present I had ever received was from a complete stranger. It was nothing more than a hamburger, fries and coke. I was hitchhiking through the southwest portion of the United States trying to get to northern California by Christmas. This lone traveler gave me a ride just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I only had $2 to my name at the time. He ended up buying me a meal at this little hamburger joint off Highway 40. He did not have too. I was hungry because it had been several days since I had anything to eat.
I did get home at 9pm on Christmas night. Ever since then, I considered my best Christmas present ever was that hamburger sandwich.
This year I want to do something like that. I know their are a lot of people who get hit with surprise expenses. This year we are going to help with a small gift what will have a big meaning.
I am not going to tell you about it here. It would spoil the surprise. It would be saying, look at me, see what I have done. I don’t want to do it.
What I am challenging you, this Christmas season, to do. Find someone who has got hit with a surprise expense. Find some little something you can do, say, or give that would mean a whole lot to them. It may just be the best Christmas present they ever get.
