(Kindness) Momma Said There’d Be Days Like This… But the Fruit of the Spirit is …Kindness

Our Holidays in Seattle.

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

― Mark Twain

While the children were young, our finances were extremely tight. Himself and I have ‘giver’s hearts.’ We always want to bless people, but didn't have the funds to do this. We were (are still to this day) very creative in giving things besides money. We wanted to instill this into our children as well.

When we were first married, we wanted to be able to give a full Thanksgiving Dinner to a family in need. It was our hearts desire. Two nights after we prayed for this, we had a knock at the door. One of the local churches that we were not affiliated with brought us a Thanksgiving box complete with a smoked turkey and all of the trimmings for a complete holiday dinner, down to the apple and pumpkin pies!  We told the people that we did not need this box, because we were well taken care of, but they insisted we take it because our name was given in to them. So, we accepted the gift and were in turn able to bless a family that Himself knew from work. They were spending their first Thanksgiving in the USA. They had just moved from Vietnam.  God is so faithful. They had prayed to be able to celebrate like true Americans. We were merely God’s hands.

Some people really would talk judgmentally of how we spent our holiday mornings while we lived in Seattle; especially Christmas. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, our children

were instructed to pull out 3 of their toys to give away. Our rules were that the toys selected needed to be in complete working order with no broken or loose or missing parts. The toys also had to be cherished by the child.  It would take our children a long time to select, and we were always proud of their selections. Then we would take them to the toy store to select 1 brand new toy to give away as well. We prayed for the people who would be on the receiving end. We took the kids to the appropriate places to donate the gifts and allowed them to put the treasures into the bins or boxes. The smiles on their faces were an awesome sight. You could see their hearts beaming through their eyes.

Himself and I loved working the street ministries in Seattle and Everett. As our children grew older, we brought them with us. They were required to stay under our feet and in our eyesight at all times. They would help to pass out sandwiches and hot coffee. I remember explaining to Ms. Bunny why some would put so much sugar into one little cup of coffee. She gave me a knowing look with tears in her eyes. My children truly interceded for these people.

On Holiday mornings we would rise at 3:30am and get dressed into our work clothes. All five of us would pile into the car and Himself would drive us to the Seattle mission. We worked in the kitchen to prepare feasts for the less fortunate. Our kids were assigned tasks as well. They usually had unending boxes of produce to sort through. Our kids were appalled that stores would send such trash to the Mission, but they trudged through the task until completed. One year there were boxes of tomatoes that were mostly rotten. My children have very strong gag reflexes. Needless to say, there were unique sounds as they performed their task, but nevertheless, they completed it!

We would leave around 11:00am when the ‘Serving Food’ people would arrive. These people were dressed in beautiful holiday clothes and served the people who came through the lines. Our kids always wanted to be the ‘Servers,’ and not so much the ‘Preparers.’  We told them that if and when God communicated to us, we would ‘Serve Food’ too, but for now we were called to be the back kitchen help and do it with pride for these people, because we loved them and because they deserved to be treated well. We would then slip out the back and head home to our own traditions of breakfast and opening presents, and then we napped for hours! Sometimes we even went straight back to bed after eating and opened presents later.

Himself and I wanted our children to understand that the sweetest and best gifts were in the giving… not the receiving.  Our children learned this lesson well, and also taught it to others.

Finally one year at Christmas, the Mission Director called a few days ahead and asked if we could also stay to serve after helping to prepare the feast. Himself and I accepted and said that as long as our children could assist, we would be there. So the night before, without telling the kids, I packed up the trunk of the car with some new Christmas clothes for them to wear for their first ‘Serving Food’ at the Mission.

After a long hard morning of us cooking and sorting and washing pans, Himself went to the car and brought all of our clothes in. The kids’ eyes lit up, and we explained that we would also be staying to serve. Everyone dressed in their bests, and donned the serving aprons. We were stationed on the line ready for our honored guests.  At the end of the serving line, the Director told us now to get a plate for ourselves and to mingle with the guests.

Ms. Bunny (age 6) pulled me aside and told me that we needed to go sit with this one family that she saw sleeping in their station wagon under the bridge when we came in early that morning. So the five of us descended on their table and made introductions. We learned that they were new to Seattle and the father had lost his job and they had nowhere to live now. We talked to the Director and he took care of this wonderful family. A year later, they were helping to prepare and serve with us at the Mission.

1 Peter 4:10-11

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 ¹⁰ Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well. ¹¹ If you have the gift of speaking, preach God’s message. If you have the gift of helping others, do it with the strength that God supplies. Everything should be done in a way that will bring honor to God because of Jesus Christ, who is glorious and powerful forever. Amen.

Prayer Time

Thank you for the opportunity to give. Thank you for supplying the means to be able to give. Thank you for giving us wisdom. Thank for my children’s sweet spirits and soft hearts towards you. Thank you for taking what meager things we have and turning them into bountiful blessings to all. Help us to always see when someone is in need and we thank you in advance for providing the provisions to be able to assist.

Copyright © 2015 Christine Osberghaus