"I live in Parma," he says, blowing the smoke from his cigarette in my face.
Parma? That's at least a half hour away toward Cleveland.
"What's your family situation?"
He takes another drag of his cigarette. "A wife and four kids. The police won't let me ask for help there. You can put the food in my car, though. I mean, my friend's car. He loaned it to me and told me I should come down here to ask for help."
---
A single mom is working around the clock to make ends meet, let alone figure out where they begin. She receives no child support, but has chosen to not let that embitter her toward the world.
She knows she needs help, but doesn't want to be a burden to anyone. So she's pouring herself into her job, picking up extra shifts, and trying to walk through this season with seasoning.
This Christmas is going to be tighter than the rest.
Tighter? Try non-existent when it comes to giving any tangible gifts to her kids.
That is, until...
---
Both of these stories are true, and I know the ending.
The bigger question is... do you?
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3)
