The time is now

Hustle and bustle
Hustle and bustle
As Christmas draws near I watch all the people scurrying around to get their last minute gifts for their loved ones. I often wonder if the gifts we buy truly express our feelings for the desired recipients.  Do the gifts actually show our love, affection and appreciation for that person or are they just tokens expected this time of year.

I also wonder what Christmas would be like if everyone lived with the notion that it is better to give than to receive.  I believe that in lieu of a gift you should give of yourself and somewhere along the line a gift will be given back to you.  It may not be a tangible gift, but a gift of the heart.  We are a society of people who put way too much value on material things and not enough in each other.

True acts of kindness are where it's at.  Ask yourself why it has become so hard to just smile at a stranger, to volunteer to feed the poor or to take that childs name off an angel tree and give. It is because we are afraid of taking something away from our own, be it time, food, money, etc.  What we are missing in the whole act of kindness thing, is that we are not taking anything at all, but giving happiness to someone and being that light we are suppose to be in Christ.  A gift, no matter how large or small, has many meanings not only to the giver but to the receiver as well.   So give of yourself, because the gift of pure love and kindness can change a life forever.

Point to ponder:  Not everything we do to  help others is charity, sometimes it is just the right thing to do.