It’s the busiest shopping season of the year! Even during the pandemic, we still manage to shop. A lot. Amazon is doing just fine this year.
Let’s get serious for a minute. Let’s pause and reflect while we’re piling up piles and piles of Christmas gifts. I challenge you to think about Christmas a little bit differently this year.
First, if you are a minimum wage earner in the United States of America, you’re in the top 10% of wage earners on the planet. Six billion people on the planet live on $1.25 a day (or less).
Second, think about this: 11 children under the age of five die every single minute because of preventable diseases (like diarrhea and malnutrition).
Instead of being overwhelmed by their plight, we can do something about this—and we can start today! Our Hope Angels are literally saving kids’ lives in one of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Rwanda.
Let’s think about what we’ve each been given. Take an inventory of the resources we all have, to varying degrees.
1. We have money.
2. We have time.
3. We have networks.
If you want an epic Christmas in 2020, start by asking yourself,
“How can I use each one of these resources to invest in relationships and experiences that really matter?”
The word “epic” means “heroic or grand in scale or character.”
What would a heroic Christmas look like for you this year?
As Joby Martin said recently in his inimitable style, “The only thing you can do with money is give it, spend it or leave it. Instead of buying that one more dumb present for your kid, invest in the life of a child. Instead of seeing utter disappointment in your kid’s face on Christmas morning, see the joy on the face of a child one day in heaven! We need to lift our eyes from our Amazon accounts and look to heaven instead!”
We’ve all been reminded that we waste a lot of money around Christmas. Let’s decide to waste at least $125 a month less in 2021 by becoming a Hope Angel. Here is one way to think about the options:
Option 1: Purchase another gift that promises to satisfy (but we know never will) and experience the disappointment of unmet expectations.
Option 2: Open a letter from the child in Rwanda whom we have chosen to invest in and experience incredible joy and satisfaction!
The choice is ours. We can change the life of a struggling family forever if we can get over ourselves and get past what’s considered “normal” in our country!