The Christmas season is busy. SO busy. Birthdays, family, school, friends, travel, um… Christmas itself. And, while I’ve wanted to adopt a family for years, I’ve always felt too busy. How awful. It pains me to admit that. I nearly missed the boat again this year, truth be told. When I finally contacted the lead for our church they were out of families (amazing!) and only had single elderly people left. That really tugged at my heart, even more than a family in some ways, and I gladly accepted Mr. Stowe to shop for. His list was meager – just a pair of boots and some green towels. In speaking with the coordinator, I learned more about his living arrangements and other potential needs and we were able to provide what I pray are many more useful items.
Much of the reason that I wanted to do this was for the benefit of the littles. We’ve shopped for Toys for Tots, loads of food and other one-off type collections, but never gone and filled up a whole cart and whole tree for someone else. We shopped for Mr. Stowe over Thanksgiving break and I had a third in tow :-)
Here’s how it went down.
Me: Boys, we have adopted an elderly man and we are going to shop for him in 20 minutes so finish up that game and get ready.
Crickets.
Blank stares.
A visible swallow.
Whit: When does he arrive?
John: Where did you find him?
Andrew: Where will he sleep?
Their hearts!!!! It was funny. But also so amazing. Nobody questioned it. Nobody moaned or groaned. They thought I had seen a need and filled it. That I’d found an elderly man and that I was bringing him home. So, we hopped in the car, armed with our list, and headed to the store. These kids DO NOT like shopping, but we made the most of it. They were in charge of scanning things without a price, pushing the buggy, helping pick things out, you name it. And, as expected, they also did their fair share of goofing off.
We wrapped the gifts, labeled them for delivery and looked forward to drop off day at church!!
We came right at the beginning of the drop off, but it was a pretty moving experience. The entire hall at church was filling with gifts! There was a square on the floor for each “family”. High school elves helped unload everything and get it to the proper place. As we walked out I had them just pause and look around.
There had to have been at least 100 families. I asked them to just think about that. Our little church alone provided Christmas for 100 families that might not have had it otherwise. And I asked them to think about the things we shopped for… essentials. Laundry detergent. Plates. Towels. Shampoo. A blanket. Such humble requests.
It was an honor and a privilege to participate in this program and something we will gladly and humbly do for the rest of our years. I truly hope that Mr. Stowe knows that there is one little family of four right here in Atlanta that is thinking about him, praying for him and wishing him the merriest of Christmases this year.
Adventure is Out There {40×41} Bucket List
DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED
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