The calls start around September..."My XYZ groups wants to help at Christmas...what do you need?" I thank profusely, send the current Wish List, mark it on an Excel Sheet that XYZ group will be doing this or that, and move on.
This past Tuesday I returned to work after a much needed decomposing rest after our Executive Sleep Out ($199K and rising!) and the hubbub of Thanksgiving. And my email was FULL. "I contacted you in September about assembling 'hygiene stockings', 'a sock drive', 'collecting gift cards'"...etc. Oh, uh...yeah..."Our group of 3,000 wants to come the Saturday before Christmas and sing carols and bring hot chocolate and cookies and visit with your residents--is that okay?" "We have 500 bags of toothpaste that will be ready for YOU to pick up on Sunday, December 18th at 8pm--will that be YOU?" "Our Fortune 500 company wants to grant every kid in your shelter their own special wish for this Christmas--what do they want?" And so it goes...
Ho ho HURGH!!!??? Why all in December? Why not March after we've run out of everything? Why not the tail end of July when nothing is going on? Why December when navigating meetings and emails and Christmas events and all my own "stuff" do people come in droves??? Because we're "supposed to"? Because people feel a sense of "should"? We tend to get a lot of calls from parents of "privileged" (their words, not mine) kids who want them to see and experience how "other kids live"...Oh...we're a kind of... therapy? A shock for your children that will suddenly turn them into thankful young people of gratitude? Forgive me if I get a tad Grinchy...Our kids are not on display...(Mama Ms. Jen protecting the den here...)
Thus we enter December and all the "normal" accompaniments...my journal entries the last few days have been marked with,"24 days to go until vacation"...""22 days until the madness ends..."
But today, as God in His Providence always seems to do when I need a good kick in the butt, it all changed.
I've been reading Advent Devotionals posted on the net from some church out yonder, not sure where. They appear to be written by different members of the congregation but also a few pastors so I'm not too sure from whence they come.
Today's was weird, something to do with a presence/spirit standing over someone as they slept (!?), not sure what that had to do with Christmas or Advent but there was one line...1 LINE...""...it was a small step to awareness of how often we do not recognize Jesus, whether it's the special visit I experienced or in the usual human form of those who look after and respond to the needs of others..." I read it over and over...and was brought low...quite low.
In fact, YES--we absolutely count on people coming out this time of year...and if they didn't come through, 60+ kids would not have a Christmas and we wouldn't have extra socks come February. As much as it is a challenge to try and balance all the good intentions (youth group of 60 versus business group of 10), people want to go out and serve this time of year. Who am I to judge the motives? Aren't they--perhaps in their own, unintentional but God-is-working-in-you way--being Jesus to our kids? And I'm scoffing at that?
The devotional went on to challenge the reader to "see Jesus" in all aspects of the season--the lights, the carols, and--yes--the gifts...It really got to me this morning and caused me to aim to keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to welcoming--not just aiming to accommodate--how Jesus might be making His way into the lives of our kids this Christmas season through the generosity of others...whether it be socks or hot chocolate or gift cards or checks.
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