There is a happiness filling my soul and as I move further into the holidays I am the happiest I have been in a long time. It is true that there is happiness in doing good for others and trusting in the Lord.
Next Tuesday I will accept an award with my Relay for Life team. Our team earned the most money for fighting cancer in this region. And even though I did not attend the Relay for Life event, my team still counted the efforts I put in through out the year. My team is still counting me as a part of it and have asked me to be at the awards ceremony. Local media will be there and we couldn't be more proud of our contribution to fight this deadly disease that affect so many.
I have shopped for toys and this time not for children in my life who have so much, but for children I don't even know who have so little. This toy shopping was for the Johnia Berry toy drive. This young girl who's parents have never forgotten her dream or her spirit and her wish for children at the holidays. I get to be a part of this too and the outpouring has been amazing.
I have loaded up three barrels of food for Second Harvest food bank and have watched as people brought in food for those less fortunate. Three barrels! Unbelievable spirit this holiday.
I still felt like I needed to do even more. I opted to sponsor a child from another country and send her letters of hope and gifts. She's 5 years old, my little girl and she lives in a home with her mother, her father, her brother and grandmother. She has so little and lives in a tough country, in an area where she has so little. Her mother sat down and wrote me a kind letter full of appreciation and love. It filled my heart.
Hearing about our American soldiers overseas, some with no families and support, I wanted to do so much for that as well. These American soldiers sent me a list of things they don't get, things they take for granted, and things that they'd ilke to have. I went shopping for them as well and loaded it all into a box with a smile and again happiness.
This holiday for me has been about giving back. In the past few months I have had so much taken from me. People have called me evil, horrible things and said awful things about me and in the end I have had to learn that it isn't what they think about me that matters. The Lord is my judge and He knows the truth in my life, He is the truth in my life. With so much ripped from me, I will gladly give to others so that they can feel love and in return I have found that happiness that I lost.
Happy holidays, friends.
