did you do it?
were you changed by it?
i looked forward to the monday it began all weekend!
i knew this would be easy for me.
i love to make and give to others.
i love to handwrite letters! i do it all the time.
but, i have to be honest.
last week something in me shook. broke.
seriously though, it went deeper than his absence.
it was just plain inspiring.
i'm having a hard time putting it all into words.
let me back up.
the week prior to the beginning of the happy day project a sweet couple in my sunday school class suddenly lost their five month old son.
i got the email sunday morning before leaving for church.
my heart hurt for them.
i cried and cried. for them.
the day after that hubs left for maine.
and on tuesday we remembered our friend that was killed in afghanistan one year ago to the day.
i couldn't get these families out of my heart, my thoughts. the tears wouldn't stop.
i am SO thankful for what the Lord has blessed me with.
i held each of my children a little more closely these days.
{as i should every day, of course.
unfortunately i, at times, take my blessed life for granted}
so, with all of that being said, and probably completely losing your interest in my rambling, i did take part in the happy day project.
some of it.
monday we made chocolate chip cookies and took them to our neighbor and friend.
her husband is deployed {as are most of the soldiers around here} and we thought her and her children would enjoy some fresh baked love.
tuesday we wrote handwritten letters to aunt debbie and a friend.
wednesday i was so torn.
i wanted so badly to go out and find a homeless person to give a gift card to.
but, without hubs here i just couldn't.
i could hear his voice telling me the dangers of being a woman with children in a bad part of town.
then, i read what jeanett said.
Every person…homeless or not…deserves warm food in their bellies. Every person…with a down comforter to snuggle under or a filthy sleeping bag on the sidewalk…deserves a smile and a moment of kindness from a stranger.
Did they make bad choices that led them to the streets? I don’t know. Do they struggle with mental illness that their families didn’t have the capacity or resources to address? Possibly. Are they themselves the product of broken families, the foster care system, abuse, neglect? I have no idea.
I am broken by the homeless.
Every dirty downtrodden face makes me want to burst into tears. Because underneath those old ratty clothes…beyond the dirty fingernails and the imaginary friends and the violent outbursts…there was once a wonderful and fabulously delicious newborn baby. A rambunctious and silly toddler. A mischevious little kid playing make believe slaying dragons from handmade forts.
her words are pure truth.
i've tried to explain my feelings to my husband.
the police officer/military police officer in him sees this in a completely different way.
so, i did not give a gift card to a homeless person. though i wanted to.
however, i did buy lunch for a boy that came in to burger king with no money.
jonah and i were having ice cream and i wondered why he was alone.
i then heard him tell the cashier he didn't have any money.
i jumped up and made sure he had a hot meal.
i still have plans to carry out the other daily tasks.
{buy a friend a book, refresh someone, blessing bags, and thank someone in service}
rinse and repeat.
the happy project does not have to be limited to one week.
and shouldn't be.
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will you tell me other ways to show jesus' love through giving or thoughtful gestures?
i seriously want to make this a habit!
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