Tis the season for holiday cheer and mayhem. And the real meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus. But amidst all the chaos and cacophony, the good news of Christmas gets lost. More than that, our news feeds are replete with negative news from all over our city, country and world. It can be quite a downer when I'm trying to feel all jolly, and Ho-ho-ho like. But the last few days, I've experienced some things that have warmed my heart amidst the negativity.
Last Friday morning, my day started off with a group Facebook message from one of my high school classmates. She had observed another classmate of ours posting something the night before about feeling suicidal. Sadly, I've not talked or heard from this classmate since high school. Apparently her life has turned very difficult. Her husband left her, she is addicted to drugs, and her son was taken away from her on Thursday. As high school classmates, we all rallied together to reach out to her, encourage her and pray for her. We banded together to donate money to buy Christmas gifts for her son, and are seeking out resources in the area to help her, especially a church.
The coolest thing about this is how our classmates mobilized. Social media was used for good. We were able to reach people near and far, even for a classmate who was struggling and lives across the country from most of us. People didn't hesitate to give money to help provide Christmas. Even today, plans are being made to go shopping and we're getting closer to more resources to help her. Maybe the most amazing thing is this. We all graduated high school in 1983....32 years ago. The bond we have transcends time.
Yesterday morning at work I experienced the second "feel good" event. One of my employees had noticed a man walking around the parking lot with his dog. He seemed disoriented. We have a lot of dog walkers from the area but this guy just didn't seem right. Two of my male employees went out to check on him. They discovered he was special needs, and seemed lost, not being able to find his house. Peter and Jon then called the non-emergency police line and explained the situation and the police said they'd come and make sure they got him home. The guy couldn't tell them where he lived, and only the first name of his parents. Peter got ingenious and took the phone number on the dog's tags, Googled it, and did a reverse lookup on the address. Jon got water for the guy and his dog, and the dog didn't drink any water, which was a good sign they hadn't been out too long. When the police got there, the work was done and all they had to do was transport the guy and his dog home.
I always say my team rocks, but yesterday, they truly hit it out of the park. They were alert to a problem, addressed the problem and resolved it. All before 11am. On days when work is discouraging and frustrating, being able to do a good deed, just makes the day better.
The best news this Christmas is Jesus' birth. And that's where I need to focus, but having these sweet events occur to help me remember that the world isn't completely lacking compassion gives me hope to keep plugging on. One day Jesus will come again, and when that day comes, oh what a joyful time of really good news that will be.
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