It’s that time of the year.  A time where we give thanks for all we have.  A time to gather with family & friends, around tables abundant with food.  So tell me, why is it only around this time of year, that we share with others the things we are thankful for?

As I see my friends on Facebook, posting about what they’re grateful for, from having their kids spend time with them, to finishing a list they started last month to whatever else happens to pop up that day, I have to ask them….Have you ever really sat down to consider what you’re truly thankful for, outside of the material things you have in life?  Aren’t there more important things than just the new car, the house, etc.  Yes, of course we are grateful for a roof over our heads, food on the table, a stable life, healthy children.  These are things to be grateful for EVERY day, not just during the month of November.

We live in a very materialistic world.  What about those who have no materialistic property?  What do they have to be thankful for?  Have you ever stopped on the street and offered a homeless person your lunch, your gloves because it was cold?  Most of us walk by.  I had the privilege of knowing a man who wouldn’t think twice about buying someone a hotdog, even if it meant he went without, to make sure they ate, to give someone his gloves because they had nothing and shivered from the cold.  His family would joke that they had to keep buying him gloves.  That  man was my uncle, Gino.  Sadly, he left us ten years ago this past October.  He is who & what I am thankful for.  For showing me it isn’t all about what I have but what I am able to give so that others can also have.

This holiday season, and all year round, when you have that something extra you picked up from the grocery store because it was on sale, take it over to your local food bank.  They don’t just need help during the holidays, they need it all year long. If you’re not sure where your local food pantry/bank is located, you can call your municipal building, church or synagogue for further information.

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