Anyway, Mother Teresa
The time was 1897, not all that long removed from the devastating War Between the States. It was a time when hope and faith were waning in this country as a minister’s son, Francis Church, was still reassembling his life as a war correspondent at the New York Sun newspaper. With the Christmas season on the horizon, his editor handed Francis a letter from a young eight year old girl named Virginia O’Hanlon questioning if there is a Santa Claus. His reply remains the most memorable in editorial history as Francis drew deep into the depths of his faith to find a suitable reply that resonates with people even today. He wrote that he exists “as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy…Ah Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding”.
We too can find the lasting joy in giving to make a difference in people’s lives. It’s a relative bargain compared to the money people spend on pursuing the fleeting happiness found in material things. And that’s the true power of giving—when the gift is given with love, generosity and devotion it is returned tenfold in the form of blessings of lasting joy and an enriched life. Jesus taught us in John 8:12 that He is the Light of the World and if we follow Him, we won’t have to walk in darkness, because we will have the ultimate gift of light that leads to life!
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