Christmas and family

Yesterday Amber went to a Christmas party for a group of disadvantaged children that her office supported as their department’s Christmas giving project.  She accompanied the fundraiser organizer to witness the good work they had done and to affirm the results of what had been shared.  What she witnessed was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, as most such events are.  The children were ostensibly wards of the state, assigned for care by noble and thoughtful caregivers, but essentially not afforded the privilege of living in a normal family environment.  They were victims of abuse of all kinds, damaged perhaps forever by their circumstances, through no fault of their own.  The probability of them breaking free from these surrounds and achieving normalcy are slight, as they must be cared for in this manner to prevent harm, be it self inflicted, or to the others around them.  They ranged in age from five to seventeen, each with the recognition of their compatriots as a reminder of what was or what is yet to be.  

Amber told me that of course this experience solidified just how blessed we are to have a family and that perhaps we may sometimes take that fact for granted.  Two demonstrations of the strife felt by these children exemplified this situation pretty well.  The first one involved a picture she saw that had won a prize for a Christmas art contest.  The drawing was a stark demonstration of how something as simple as hope can be so important for a child.  She described the drawing as two pictures separated by one vertical line in the middle of the page.  On the left was a simply drawn picture of a child standing next to a Christmas tree with the label of “Present”.  On the right was a similar picture but with the addition of an adult.  The right side was labeled “My Wish”.  The second example had to do with one of the party’s activities.  The children were traversing through a series of “stations” designed to orderly provide for participation in party games, snacks, and gifts.  Upon approaching the Santa station where the gifts were delivered, one of the younger children asked the question: “Will I just get a sack of gifts like everyone else, or will my gift have my name on it”? Can you even imagine your children being in a situation where that question makes sense? If those two instances do not exemplify the amazing blessings of family, then nothing does. 

So often the gifts we already have; family, love, hope, and all else are taken for granted.  At this time of year it is very easy to focus on what we will be getting or giving instead of what we already have.

In closing I’d like to say that my wish for all of us is to recognize these blessings along with the greatest blessing of all – that which was given us a little over two-thousand years ago . . .

Merry Christmas from the Harris Family