It’s a song we sing at church every once in awhile. And it’s a song that I simply cannot sing without crying. The words are so simple but there is so much beautiful powerful in them. And whether you believe in God or not, the words are so true because they apply to each & every one of us…
Because I have been given much, I too must give.
Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.
I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,
who has the need of help from me.
Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-
my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-my roof’s safe shelter over head,
that he too may be comforted.
At this time of year, it’s easy to look around us and see how blessed we are. It’s also easy to look around at those around us & see that there are people who are struggling. Family illnesses, home foreclosures, people losing their jobs, those without the means to provide basic needs for their families. Life.is.HARD.
I am going to share a story with you about a family who needs some extra help at this particular time in their lives…
Cristian is a 7 year old boy-currently he’s in the second grade at school. On October 1st Cristian was complaining of pain in his right foot. As the days progressed his foot started hurting more and more, by Wednesday October 5th, Cristian woke up unable to walk & unable to use his right side. That morning his parents took him to his doctor for a check up. The Doctor sent him to the emergency room & later that day they diagnosed him with a brain tumor on his left side. They soon discovered that the tumor was the size of an orange. He was flown to the Oakland Children’s Hospital where he underwent an 8 hour surgery to remove the tumor. After the surgery Cris recovered well….and as his family was eagerly waiting to hear from the doctor regarding the results from the tumor. On October 14, they were given the bad news that Cristian’s Tumor was malignant and that we would have to do Chemotherapy for four rounds along with a bone marrow transplant & radiation.
As if this wasn’t already a hard enough time for little Cris & his family, his father was laid off from his job at the same time. Their family has six children to care for along with heaps of medical bills.
I’m hoping that you can see all that you’ve been given in your life & recognize how much others can benefit from your small contribution. Because we have been given so much in our lives, I really believe that we need to give to others & help those who have needs greater than our own.
Although our lives & the trials we are given are uncertain, there is one thing that is for sure: that there are wonderful people out there who are willing to help…and I hope you are one of those types of people!
I am holding a fundraiser for sweet family-100% of the money raised will go to this family to help them in this time of their lives. Thanks to my friend Liz for donating the lovely merry-go-round photograph. The other photographs are ones I took while traveling in Europe. Each photograph that you purchase will be emailed to you in a high resolution format. The photograph is then yours to print, frame, give as a gift, use for Christmas cards, use as a desktop photo, etc. The photograph you are emailed will not have my watermark on the image. ALL the proceeds will go to Cris’ family to help pay for his medical bills & to help them get back on their feet.
Here’s hoping that you can see another’s need & share what YOU can with this family. Thanks in advance for helping this sweet family in their time of need. Merry Christmas to each of you!
I am hoping that the photographs will be purchased for $7 each, but I am leaving the amount blank so that you can donate as much or as little as you like. Donations will close on December 24th, 2011.
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