Tough Times in a Seaon of Celebration

Momlogic posted a story about the thousands who will celebrate the new year homeless due to foreclosure. I remember a year that Christmas was coming and there was nothing. Not for food. Not for gifts. Not for electricity or warmth. Richard and I owned a farm and the economic climate had changed due to legislation that forced thousands of farmers just like us into selling the farm. Richard worked nearly 100 hours a week, taking care of our cattle and farming operation, as well as working every extra hour for other more established farmers at a whopping $5 an hour.

As Christmas approached I sat in the living room. We were doing everything we knew how to survive. I was a young mom, in my twenties with three little children. This former city girl helped on the farm as much as I could. My young husband was exhausted, working from 4 a.m. to dark seven days a week. That day I walked to the mailbox and pulled out the mail. An envelope with no stamp was inside. I opened it and a hundred dollar bill fell out.

Christmas was suddenly possible. The girls didn't know the Barbies weren't real Barbies. My son didn't care if the car wasn't motorized. All they knew is that there were Christmas gifts under the tree and food on the table.

They are in their twenties now, the same age we were during that tough Christmas. They don't remember that things were bad, just tight. They remember that Christmas as fondly as any other.

That same season a sister-in-law surprised us with bags and bags of groceries. She carefully picked out favorite foods and special treats. I squeezed those groceries and they lasted for a very long time.

The Sunday after Christmas a friend gave us a $500 check.

We had told no one that we were struggling. The bank knew. The utility company knew. But our parents, our friends, our neighbors... They didn't. We had tried for months to work as hard as we knew how to stay alive financially and somehow a few kind people made a really tough time bearable.

Just telling this story brings tears. It seems like a thousand years ago. It wasn't because of bad decisions or laziness. Economic decisions changed our industry and turned our world upside down. Eventually we made the decision to sell the farm and start over from scratch. It took five years to pay off the debt left after the sale, but we chiseled away at it and eventually had a burning party, watching the paper turn to ash, a thousand pounds falling off our young shoulders.

That time in our lives made us aware that there are good people who work hard who may fall into tough times. And a bag of groceries or a few bucks hidden in their mailbox or if times are really good, a sacrificial gift, can make a HUGE difference. It gives that couple or that person hope that things will get better.

My Christmas shopping is done. Or is it? Our budget is tight, but not so tight that we can't do one thing. Some thing. Thanks Momlogic for reminding all of us that there are people who are facing tough times in a season of celebration. Is there someone you know who needs a Merry Christmas?