Christmas Spirit!

Trees are up (small ones), house decorated, most of the mementos have been pulled out and displayed. I have a good start on Christmas.  The church Christmas play will be this Sunday, and caroling Sunday night.

We felt in the Christmas spirit last Friday, when Howard and I donned red aprons and rang bells for the Salvation Army.  People were bustling in and out of Hobby Lobby, our assigned location, mostly intent on their shopping, but a good many took time to stop, reach in pocket or purse, and place a donation in the kettle.

Exiting the church Sunday, I stopped at the Angel Tree and took a tag with the name of a little boy and his wishes for Christmas.  This was a Salvation Army project, also. It took awhile to find the items on the five-year-old's wish list. (We didn't even know what an Emoji pillow was, nor what kind of Ninja he wanted!) And although our 10-year-old granddaughter thrives on something called Minecraft, I didn't even go there!

Confident we knew where the Salvation Army was, we headed there, but checking directions, we realized this was not the drop-off place. Howard turned the car around as we hunted the elusive location that did not seem to match the street address. "There it is!" I exclaimed after we had circled, back-tracked, and was almost ready to give up. The smiling attendant added my bag to the growing mountain of tagged goods that would soon be delivered to needy children for Christmas. Whew! I thought, next time I may just give money!

Still, someone would have to do the leg work, and gifts for some 400 children would take a lot of shopping! Also, hunting and buying gifts ourselves made it seem more personal as we thought about the child who would receive them. Other personal, hands-on, happenings occurred the day of the bell-ringing. Afterwards, we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. Entering, we noticed a bent figure we recognized as the guy who walks all over town every day, digging in trash cans for food or picking up cigarette stubs and smoking them.

While Howard ordered, I went to the ladies room. I almost bumped into a woman in there sitting in a chair, her body shaking and trembling uncontrollably while a younger woman stood nearby. "Is she sick?" I asked, to which they nodded, and her friend said, "She almost passed out!"

"Can I pray for you?" I heard myself say! She looked surprised, but agreeable. Suddenly I felt the strength of the Holy Spirit as I laid hands on her head and said, "Be healed, in Jesus name!" I thanked them and walked out. Howard had just gotten our order, and when I asked him what took so long, he said he had bought lunch for the man outside. Like I said, the personal touch.