Sharing The Holiday Spirit

Sharing with others, the presents you bring Gifts from the heart, will make others sing. Today's Song is ... Carol Of The Bells - Instrumental Today's Inspiring Story is ... "Sharing Time" "Christmas inspires giving, sharing and caring." That does not mean we should reserve our generosity for just the Christmas holiday season." Lt. Lorenzo "Rennie" Miles has seen a lot in his law enforcement career, and he's touched a lot of lives, apparently in a good way. Good enough to inspire more than 500 individuals, some hailing from across the United States, to send him Christmas cards this year. Miles, who has worked for decades as an investigator in Somerset County, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on Nov. 17. Once the word got out, a couple of his colleagues quietly — and successfully — organized a Christmas card drive. Miles is stunned, and said this is the best Christmas present he's ever received. There's nothing like bad things happening to a good person to bring out the spirit of giving in others. And there's nothing like the Christmas holiday season to get people in the mood to be cheerful givers. There are probably hundreds of coat drives, hat and mitten drives, food drives, community dinners, secret Santa activities, adopt-a-family and toy collections on Delmarva alone, all inspired by Christmas and a desire to make sure no child goes without a toy and no family lacks the fixings for a Christmas dinner at home. State police officers locally participated in "Shop with a Cop," taking underprivileged children out on a shopping trip for toys they selected themselves and a ride in the police cruisers. Princess Anne police and firefighters were just recently collecting donated holiday toys for hospitalized children in the wake of a tragedy in that town. On Virginia's Eastern Shore, Bank of Cheer has been making the holidays brighter for families for more than 50 years. But as many charities like to remind us, need doesn't suddenly pop up at Christmas and disappear afterward along with the tinsel and used wrapping paper. To be sure, there is something about the innocence of wide-eyed children waiting up for a glimpse of the jolly old elf himself that tugs at the heartstrings of most Americans. It is true, however, that magic is no longer special if it becomes the norm. That does not mean we should reserve our generosity for just the Christmas holiday season. To be sure, whenever there's a disaster, whether it's a family displaced by a fire, many people displaced by unexpected flooding or wildfires, a cancer diagnosis, serious childhood illness or some other unwelcome turn of events, charities and individuals step up to help. The ways to help out are many, and the cost can be relatively painless. Packing boxes to send to deployed U.S. service members, writing a check to an established charity like United Way, donating to a church drive, cleaning out your closets and allowing someone else to have use of your discarded items or adopting a family during a period of need are all ways we can give back some of the blessings we ourselves have received. Some people say it is more blessed to give than to receive. And there is some truth to it — especially as people transition from childhood, a period of mostly receiving, to adulthood, when we become more nurturing and aware of the needs of others. Some children, wise beyond their years, will perceive a need and work help fill it. A shining example is Brook Mulford, a Salisbury girl who has suffered multiple cancer diagnoses and received so much from the community that she decided to give something back, setting up a toy closet at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. But still, there is something truly compelling about a Christmas miracle. There is the story about a Christmas Eve truce in 1914, during World War I, when German and British soldiers on the front briefly suspended hostilities to sing Christmas carols together, and the following morning actually exchanged pleasantries and small gifts before resuming the battle. True, it didn't bring a permanent peace, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get. Still, what kind of world would this be if we all lived every day as if it was Christmas, in a spirit of giving, caring and loving each other? May we seek out miracles this Christmas, do good where and when we can, and spread well-wishes instead of criticism — for this day, and for as many days as we are able. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa and Happy Festivus to all who celebrate them. Editor's Note: This article has been corrected to indicate it was German and British soldiers in World War I who participated in a spontaneous truce on Christmas Eve in 1914. View Thee original Desktop Version of "Sharing Time" Thanks For Visiting