"Tis better to give than to receive".... I made a vow to myself last year that each and every time I saw one of the Salvation Army members outside a store ringing their bell I would give them all the change in my pocket and if I didn't have any change then I would reach in my wallet and find some money to put in the kettle. On a few occasions I think I did both, emptied my pockets of change and added some bills to the kettle as well. I can't recall what made me make that promise to myself but for the past two seasons I've never missed the chance to put something in the kettle each time I was at a store where the Salvation Army had a bell ringer.
A couple weeks ago I was out getting lunch and I could hear the bell ringer from a couple stores away. I couldn't see where they were but had a general idea of what store I thought they were in front of. I had just walked out from getting my lunch and had a pocket full of change, so remembering the promise I made to myself, I got in the truck and drove to the front of the other store and put all the change I had in the bucket. I told the gentleman I could hear his bell from several stores away as I dropped all my change in the kettle.
Sure the X-Box and the PS3's the Flat Screens and Lap Tops are all cool stuff but if you really want to see the joy of the Christmas season go find some needy kids who could use a new coat for Christmas to help keep them warm or buy some new hats and gloves for people who don't have any and my bet is that you'll carry that joy with you for much longer.... Help someone and pay it forward, what comes back to you is often much greater than you expect.
