NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Sera and I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year. We hope that you are enjoying the holidays and taking stock in what you are blessed with rather than what you desire.
We didn't exchange presents on this Christmas Day because we wanted to give back to the community: Last week, we gave $200 from our family savings for children in the Westside of New Smyrna Beach, who otherwise would have had a Christmas without a toy. The donation went to the Allen AME Church. We made the same donation to the church at Thanksgiving for families who might not have otherwise had a special meal.
We don't announce this to brag or to give the impression that we are better than anyone else because we are not.
We believe that charity begins at home. When I was a little kid, I liked hearing the biblical story about "The feeding of the 5,000," also known as the miracle of the five loaves and the two fish.
Jesus was asked by the disciples whether to send the crowds away that came to see him as it was getting late. Instead, Jesus said, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. The disciples persisted, We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish." Jesus commanded, "Bring them here to me."
Jesus asked the people to sit on the grass as he raised five barley loaves and two small fish to the heaven, prayed and then broke the bread. Then he gave them to the disciples who gave them to the people; 5,000 were fed. The disciples then picked up 12 basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
The point here is that even a little bit can help so many others. President Kennedy said, "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."
Four years before he became president, Ronald Reagan gave a speech in which he referred to the Great Depression and the impact on his family: Back in those dark depression days I saw my father on a Christmas Eve open what he thought was a Christmas greeting from his boss. Instead, it was the blue slip telling him he no longer had a job. The memory of him sitting there holding that slip of paper and then saying in a half whisper, 'That's quite a Christmas present,' it will stay with me as long as I live."
The point here is that we should not dismiss or judge the less fortunate, who because of circumstances beyond their control, find themselves struggling to survive.
NSBNews.net is Florida's first fully-online 24/7 Internet newspaper launched April 7, 2008, in New Smyrna Beach. It is led by award-winning journalist Henry Frederick and award-winning blogger Peter Mallory with emphasis on breaking news, news of record and investigative reporting here, and even throughout the Sunshine State, when we can.
