I am going to serve my son when he can do nothing but study.
I am going to help a friend who needs her car repaired.
I am going to get food to the homeless.
May joy be felt among all this season!
During this time of celebration, gift buying, decorating, baking and spending time with our families we tend to forget those who seem to struggle more emotionally and financially because of this time of year. Some don't have family members or loved ones to spend time with. Some are not working and can't shop for presents for their babies. Some can't put food on the table as it is let alone bake extra for the season or for others.
I tend to focus on those less fortunate. How can I serve others? My friends who are out of work or who are alone come to the front of my mind. I thank God for my blessings and pray for them to be blessed. I am not homeless. I have family and work. I am warm. I can help others. The depression and sadness I see come over some people during this time breaks my heart.
(My son would kill me if he knew I put this picture of him on here)
He hasn't slept in 24 hours and is studying for his chemistry final. He is going to be a doctor like his Grampa. He looks kind of mad in this picture. I'm bothering him while he's trying to focus but it's exam time for our kids who are in college. They are so stressed out and it's painful to watch them. This is more true with really hard majors or double majors. I remember pulling all nighters but when you see what colleges are demanding of the kids these days it looks much harder. It's harder if the young person has to work on top of going to school full time. In my day it wasn't as hard. In my parent's day it was even easier (according to my dad, the doctor).
Exams are tough these days...but it's nice to have a mom who understands.
ReplyDeleteAnice I wanted to thank you for your kindness and coming over to my little shop on etsy to shop! Your notecards are on their way with an added gift! I have two daughters in college so I know what you mean about the stress. My daughter Holly will be 20 on Dec. 26th. She is in her third year at the community college and on top of finals just finished filling out her applications to tranfer to UC. She worked full-time(45 hr weeks as a manager at McDonalds her first two yrs.) Now she works part-time at Starbucks. Much better. She is an honor student and hoping to get a full scholarship to Harvard or UC Berkeley as an International Relations/Journalism major. College was difficult when I went but It is much more demanding for our kids these days. At least they get a long winter break! Merry Christmas. ox
ReplyDeleteThank You Shana. As parents I believe we want to do all we can to help our kids succeed. My son has always done everything on his own and I want to serve him for once. He has turned a corner in his maturity and I see how focused he is. He is stubborn and doesn't want my help but I want to help him learn he can receive help when it is freely given especially by Mom! Thanks for visiting and I will spend some time visiting you!!
ReplyDeleteKeri,
ReplyDeleteI got my cards and I love them. I'm going to post on your site as well. It is nice to find friends who "understand" what it's like for the kids. It is good for them to work but I will keep your daughter in my prayers that she will get a full scholorship or enough to help so she doesn't have to work that much and can focus on her studies. She sounds like she has worked hard and deserves to be able to focus on the "hard" classes. Kudos to her for applying to bother Harvard and Berkley. Keep me posted. I would love to hear how her college journey unfolds. And yes, thank heaven for winter break. Merry Christmas to you too!