An Unmerry Christmas

Christmas isn't so "merry" for some. It's a reminder that family has died or is estranged. My extended family is going to have a bittersweet Christmas this year because of the death of my 21 year old cousin. I remember the first Christmas without my grandpa. My grandma was so strong, but when it came time to read the Christmas story from the Bible (formerly my grandpa's job), she was sobbing.

Most of our friends are single. I'd say that about 90% of them come from disfunctional families. This is why we have big celebrations at our house at Thanksgiving and a big Christmas party. Our community is the only family that some of them have. I know of three single people who aren't able to go home this Christmas. One of them is literally kicked out of her family (if you knew her, you wouldn't understand why because she is the sweetest girl and only 19 years old).

Every year, we find a family who is having a difficult time financially. The Lord points them out to us. Most of the time, it's a family very dedicated to the Lord but seems to be in need at this point. This year, we chose a family who lived in New York before. He had a profitable business until 9-11. His building which was next to the Trade Center went down. Now they live here and are trying to rebuild their lives.

We took up a collection for them at our Christmas party. We raised $350 for them from our broke, single friends. I think that they have found the secret to having a "merry" Christmas despite the family problems. You get the focus off of you and try to help others out. If you look around, you will see many hurting people. In fact, broken families are in the majority and not the minority anymore.