Thanksgiving Grocery Stores

I can’t begin to explain the excitement I have just thinking about deploying this next holiday mission! We all know the holidays can be quite a stressful time and parents want nothing more than to have these special holidays be a time of making memories with their family.   Instead, there are many families out there who are just struggling to make ends meet and even a simple Thanksgiving meal is a cause for stress, let alone knowing one month from then is a child’s favorite holiday, Christmas!  Mahatma Gandhi once said that “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” I feel that especially during the holiday seasons it’s easy to get wrapped up in buying the most expensive, up to date gadgets and forget that if you were to give back just a little, you could hugely impact other people’s lives and make their holiday season something they will never forget!

I imagine most of you have seen videos on Facebook or YouTube where someone is at a grocery store and plotting out people that are about to check out and as soon as they go to pay, they tell them, don’t worry, I got this one for you, and pay for their groceries. The majority of these people break down in tears, just like I do when I see  it! To watch these videos and see the reactions when receiving the gift, gives you an amazing feeling inside, and makes you want to continue doing it.  It says in 1 Peter 4, Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. It almost gives you a feeling of purpose in this world, a purpose of serving others, in which we were made to do. It also makes you appreciative of what you have a whole lot more, and more willing to give when you see the impact it has on another human being.

I sure hope others are just as excited as we are about our next missions.  We will be going to local grocery stores, talking to the directors and managers that may know that one employee that is stretched beyond their means working extra shifts, giving it their all to support their family and wondering how they will prepare for the holidays.

I know a lot of these families we find will never have even asked for assistance, but deep down are struggling day in and day out.  Our goal for Step7Living is to make this holiday season a little less stressful and little bit brighter for these families, and even brighter for all of us who are here to support this mission, and present them with an in-store gift card to help out with all the holiday expenses.  Hey, why not also lower your income tax burden for the year, all while helping someone truly in need, who could never repay you for this selfless act, and getting to actually watch it all happen!