The gift of time

Today I was given the gift of an hour of my mom's time. I looked around my trashed, post-Christmas house this afternoon while she was here and I started feeling claustrophobic. I'd gotten rid of the wrapping paper and ribbons and shoved most of the opened gifts back under the tree, but somehow, the house was littered with stuff everywhere. Dishes, new clothes, games, toys, instructions, boxes, packing supplies, containers, pieces and parts...I didn't know where to start.
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That's when my mom said, "Merry Christmas...I'll give you one hour and we'll see how much we can get done. Let's get started." I've always been a big advocate of setting the timer and racing against the clock, but it was even that much MORE motivating having someone race alongside me! My house was put back together in no time, one room at a time, one surface at a time and a couple of rooms are even more than straightened; they're actually clean, too. I've always told Mike that the gift I appreciate most is time off (I got a "Mom's Day Off" certificate for Christmas, among other amazing gifts) and I'm realizing that the gift of time is my absolute favorite.

Does anyone else have trouble accepting offers of help from others? I've definitely gotten better over the last few years at letting others help me. I remember a neighbor who offered to bring me a meal after I had Kaylin. When I gratefully declined (I barely knew her and didn't want to put her out) she seemed surprised and a little hurt. Later, a similar thing happened with me: I genuinely wanted to help someone and they politely refused. It was at that moment that I realized that when people offer to help, we should graciously accept - helping each other is what keeps kindness alive in our society!
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Since Jason arrived, I've accepted help from dozens of generous friends, neighbors and acquaintances. People have brought us meals, offered to watch our kids while we have a date, offered to help with grocery shopping and one friend even offered to bring her sleeping bag over and be my "night nurse" one evening so I could get a full 8 hours of sleep. Seriously! Who does that?!? I know some truly amazing people.
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I've learned (and am continuing to learn) that I shouldn't feel like I'm putting others out when they offer to help. They wouldn't offer if they weren't willing. And I'm realizing that I might not be in a financial position to help many of the people in need this holiday season, but I can certainly offer to give them some of my time.
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One year ago today, the morning after Christmas, a friend's husband passed away suddenly. She didn't work, there was no life insurance policy and she was instantly turned into a single mom with four kids, three of them under four years old. People came out of the woodwork anonymously donating cash and gift cards to help her financially. But when I asked her how else we could help, she answered that she was having trouble keeping up with her laundry. So in addition to meals, I coordinated a weekly schedule of people who were willing to pick up her laundry and return it clean and folded. Sometimes you just never know what's weighing someone down, so the best thing to do is ask.
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What can you do to help someone else this week? Think about it, even pray about it, asking God to lead you to someone you can help. Offer to babysit for a single mom, bring medicine or lunch to a sick friend, run errands for a busy co-worker or help an elderly neighbor shovel their driveway. (or mow their lawn for those of us in warmer weather!) Be genuine, be persistent and be bold. Now that the chaos of the Christmas season is dying down, start a cycle of generosity with people in your circle of influence. You'll be glad you did!