We are officially
in the crazy time of the year at Hope House. It all starts with Back-to-School
in August, Christmas sign-ups in October and holiday closings and needs from
here on to the New Year! Our waiting room is FULL every day with busyness and
warmth, Seahawk pride, plans for Halloween and lots of beautiful children. We turn
on the heat, break out the pumpkin decorations and hand out gloves and hats as
fast as we get them. I love this time of year, both at home with my family and
here at Hope House with this family.
My challenge
in all of this is always juggling the joy of the holidays, particularly
Christmas, and the stress of the added work that our Christmas Program brings. Sometimes
I get cranky dealing with people who appear in July asking for Christmas
presents or show up on October 1st every year to apply for the
program. I have to remind myself that these are parents trying to make sure
their children have some semblance of the same holiday experience other
children they know have. We have rules in place about how often families can
access our Christmas list, and that should be the end of my angst about it!
Every year I
also hear from those who think we are too generous with our Christmas Program. In
the past, we have not only bought gifts for the children, but also a small gift
for each parent. Some say we should only give a small gift to each child, and
give the family a big box of food. We have compromised this year in changing
the program to be only for the children—no gifts for the parents; but knowing
our donors, many of the families will also receive “family gifts” of food,
blankets, games, etc. Each year, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of those
who support our mission.
So to those
who think we are too generous (and to my cranky self in the middle of it!),
here is what I say:
Try to think
back to your childhood years – remember the excitement building up in school
over all the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas). Remember costumes,
finger puppet turkeys and snowflakes cut from white paper? Every recess in December
was dedicated to discussion of what toy was the best to ask Santa for, weighing
the merits, seeing what your friends are asking for—all so important to
children. Coming back to school in January was so exciting because we all got
to compare who got what from Santa!
Now picture
being a child who hears all of this, who eagerly joins in the toy conversations
before the Christmas break and who goes home to a meager Christmas. He/she finds
only a small Dollar Store toy under the tree from Santa. In January, he hears about
the Mega-Transformers, the Barbie dolls, the bikes and scooters, the Lego’s that
the other children found under the tree from Santa. What does this say to this
child about how valuable he is to Santa? What does that translate into his/her
soul about their worth in this world? To a child, Santa is God and if he doesn’t
value them, then what are they worth?
I refuse to
let any children I know suffer this feeling of insignificance if I can help
them see and feel that they are children of God and worth far more than they
realize.
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such
is the kingdom of heaven.”
