A Season of Giving

Last night we had our Christmas Enrichment meeting at Carol Ferguson's home. I have been in charge of these quarterly women's meetings for a few months now, and to have the program and all of the details finally fall into place was a relief and a blessing. Carol's home always looks like a Christmas store, there is no corner or shelf that is not adorned with Christmasness so it is the perfect setting and the program we had turned out just perfect. We decorated a wreath during the meeting, talking about the symbolism of each element, red berries, ornaments, stars, bells and candy canes. For each decoration we added, we explained what it symbolized and then talked about a woman in our ward that somehow embodied that symbolism. Then we had a musical number that also tied in with that decoration. We had trumpets and violins, guitars and beautiful singing. The Spirit was strong and I know we each left having a deeper appreciation of the sisters we associate with. I know I felt uplifted.

We also collected gifts for the foster children in the area last night. When I left my car was brimming with toys and I felt so grateful for the selflessness of everyone that participated. This morning, I was able to take the gifts to the Social Services office, and they sincerely expressed their thankfulness for our help. In total, we collected 55 toys and 15 gift cards for these needy children who otherwise might not get much for Christmas. I had all three of my boys with me and I hope they got the message that it is better to give than to receive. In talking with Cameron on the way home, he is the one who taught me. I was explaining how the kids would not have any Christmas without these gifts and he corrected me. "It's still Christmas with no presents, mom, because it's still about Jesus, not toys." So true.