My One Day to Give

I try to live my life to the fullest. To treat others as I would like to be treated. To give of my time and my resources whenever possible. Every once in awhile, I read or hear of something that inspires me to do more, give more, be more. The other day, I read this challenge:

and was instantly inspired to find another way to give. Unfortunately, my One Day to Give found me two days ago. I was told of a fire that ravished a two-family house in town on Sunday night- leaving two families with children homeless, without anything left. One of the families has four girls - three of whom wear the same sizes as my youngest three and their littlest wears the same size as my niece, Skylar. So I spent Monday afternoon going through our closets and drawers, finding a good mix of school clothes, pajamas, and outerwear to share with those children, picking up a bag of clothes and wipes for the baby (thanks Allison!), and shopping for undies, tights, kids' shampoo and ponyholders. I also filled backpacks (you might have noticed in pictures that we had quite a lot of backpacks) with school supplies and books to read. After dropping it all off, I was overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and inadequacy. Anything I could give felt like nothing in comparison to what these people will need now. I can only hope that others will give what they can and every little bit will bring the family that much closer to being okay. I also hugged my children extra tight that night and gave thanks that, at least for today,

we are okay.