Running up to the table to receive her gift, a bright-eyed girl, with a wide grin and more excitement than her tiny body could hold, danced and wiggled as her mom stated their name. They waited for the gift to be brought over to the table. Given the gift that had been wrapped in shiny Christmas paper, the girl grabbed the gift and exclaimed, “Mommy, it is beautiful. Can I PLEASE open it NOW?” Mom tried to whisper that they would wait until they were home to open the gift, but the little girl squirmed as she exclaimed, “I can’t wait.”
And then there was the elderly lady whose knees had been hurting. She couldn’t walk to the farm to receive her basket of food, so her basket was delivered to her home. She quickly said, “Why do you care for me so? I think I am 101 years old and if God chooses to take me on, ‘Glory to Him.’ Maybe you should be caring for the young ones who have a lot of years left here on earth.” We just wanted her to know God sees her and cares for her.
Young and old, God sees us and cares for us all.
The pandemic has canceled so many plans and traditions. One of those for La Casa is our annual Christmas party for the families we serve and our neighbors around the farm. However, our hearts still wanted to share a bit of cheer this hard year. Small gifts were bought for each child and a food basket was given to each family. Our social workers personally delivered a basket of food to each of the families we work with throughout the year. Our staff gave out gifts and food baskets to our neighbors. 270 baskets and almost 350 gifts were distributed this past week. No games, carnival rides, ice cream, pupusas or drinks . . . but showing others that God’s abundant love is the reason we celebrate, even this year, seemed important.
Thank you to those who gave so that others could receive. May your heart be filled to overflowing because of God’s great love this season.
