Hope at Christmas

Author's Note - This piece, written over Christmas vacation happened to be the first time I had collected all of my thoughts to the topic of homelessness. It was just about a week after writing it that I realized the words I wrote were true. While driving in the car with my family, I saw a man sitting on the side of the road with a long trench coat and a hat on. He must have been homeless because his hair and beard were unkept and scraggly and he looked lonley. This man had a plastic bag closely nestled to him which from the bumpy odd shpae looked like the remains of a small blanket was inside. There was a moment where I was angry at the rest of the world for letting this man be out in the cold without a home but most of me was sad for the terrible future that the poor man would have.

There is nothing like the feeling of opening up a new present on Christmas day and thinking, "Wow! This is exactly what I wanted." or, "This is exactly what I needed." But what we need and what we want on Christmas aren't the only things we get. We get the comfort of our families and the satisfaction of feeling like we belong. The biggest thing we get however is hope, because in a dark dreary season like winter we can all count on the holidays to lift us up. Christmas makes our hearts warmer and stronger in more ways than just one.

Christmas is a time of giving, not a time of getting. Yes, it is nice to recieve gifts, and love from others but we should also spread that. It makes people feel right, and actually it makes us feel good too. After giving a gift, we see how happy we can make people which encourages us to give more. A gift is not just a present though. It is a way in which we can make people feel good about themselves, like a warming smile, or a simple hug.

Giving is one of the many historical events in the Christmas pasttime. It makes our hearts grow, and reach full strength to a point where they are like the strongest strand of grass amoungst a million other of its fuzzy green friends in a valley. Somehow giving isn't enough though at Christmas. You can give and give all you want to friends and family, but there is still the people that you think about every year. The people who live on the streets because they don't have a home, the people who have no money because they can't find a job, and the people who can't afford to give their children a Chrismas meal. What can we possibly do to help these people?