Have you ever thought about the true Christmas spirit? What does Christmas mean to you? A simple snowman changed the way we think about Christmas and we wanted to share it with you. Hopefully you will read this and really appreciate what you have and what you can give to others. Here is the story behind the snowman pictured above...As many of our readers know, Mom is a teacher. She teaches at an inner city school. Mom doesn't get Christmas presents from her students, nor does she expect to. Her students come to school hungry and often don't know where they will sleep at night. Not only does she teach in the inner city, but the domestic violence safe house and the homeless shelter are both in her school's district. Anyway, she got the lovely snowman pictured above as a gift. Mom teaches two sisters who bounce around from place to place. They have been in foster care due to neglect. These two sweet girls brought Mom the snowman for a Christmas gift on Friday. It was dirty and ragged. The bottom and the back were covered with pet stains. Mom started to cry when they gave it to her. The girls, of course, were so proud of the gift. It touched Mom's heart that these girls would think of her and want to do something special for her. As scrappy as the gift was, it was a symbol of how special Mom is to the girls. She knew that they had given her one of their possessions. One of the girls told Mom that they didn't have a tree and the snowman was one of their only Christmas decorations. Mom tried to give it back, but they wouldn't take it.
Anyway, think about the gifts you receive this season. They may not be what you want or what you would pick out for yourself, but someone went to the trouble to give you a gift. We should all be thankful for the gifts we get. Most of all, we should be thankful that we have a warm bed to sleep in and a home to go home to. We have enough food for our bellies and the love and support of our families.
