At the Abundant Grace Homeless Services drop-in center in Half Moon Bay where I volunteer, our director had old Christmas music standards on by ‘ancient’ artists like Sinatra and Dean Martin; and our guests walked through their day sublimely humming or outright singing along to everything from It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, to Silent Night. It was pure magic!Meanwhile,, a volunteer came in with two great big boxes of brand new underwear and socks they were donating for our folks. Together we sorted them all by type and size and put ’em on the shelf. I also watched the volunteer be truly embarrassed when our director invited our guests in the courtyard to come and get some of these blessed items and promptly told them all that this person had brought them in! They were most especially embarrassed when all our guests began to clap and cheered “WOW! AND BRAND NEW STUFF, TOO!”
Lastly, as I was sorting and folding more clothes in the clothing-closet, a young female guest asked a special favor to have a few extra pairs of socks and a few other items beyond what folks’re generally allotted. I asked if she were totally out of these items and she replied, shyly and almost tearfully that, “It’s for some of my folks whose camps are near mine under the bridge, but they don’t like coming here cause they’re using, so they’re afraid they’ll be all high and junk and you guys’d kick ’em out,” (which we wouldn’t, unless their behavior was a danger), “and I just GOTTA get ’em something for Christmas – they’re like family to me!” I smiled and helped her pick out some choice items for her under-the-bridge ‘family’. “Blessed are the poor, for they shall look out for each other.”
Peace and Blessings, all… 
