Chrissy Johnson
Bio
An artist is someone who wants to communicate while also wanting to stay away from people... current times have created many Artists in the world ❤️😊🌳🌎
Stories (2)
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It is in giving that you truly receive.
It was almost Christmas Day, everyone was getting exited for the awaited celebrations and most of all, the gifts that would come with this special holiday. Everyone, except for me, was feeling the spirit and counting down the days, singing along to the Christmas music playing on the radio, watching the snow fall outside the busy restaurant windows. It was four days until Christmas, and as the store manager, I asked my most valued employee, Rosa, if she was ready for Christmas. She told me in her beautiful Spanish accent, No I am not ready, I have no gifts for my childrens, and payday is not for one more week, and she looked at me with the sadness that any single mother of 4 would understand. That did not get me any closer to feeling the spirit that I was seeking. Being a spiritual but not religious person living in America can certainly have its challenges around the holidays. But all I really wanted that year, was to embrace the magic of the Christmas spirit. I watched Rosa work throughout the rest of the day, she was the most hard working woman I knew, she had integrity and took great pride in her work, she was the dough master at my Pizza Hut and every dough patty she formed was made into a perfect little work of art. When she was done with the dough for the day, she never wasted a minute of her time on the clock. She would scrub down and clean her entire area, everything sparkled before she was done with her shift. I paid her more than the other employees, I paid her the maximum allowable wage of $7.00 an hour, the same wage as a shift manager, because I knew she deserved more than minimum wage, and was doing everything she could do to take care of her family. When I got home that night, and walked in the door to see my Christmas tree, all lit up with beautifully wrapped gifts stacked under the tree, I couldn’t help but feel the Christmas spirit I was seeking, getting even further away from me. I was grateful to have my shopping done and everything my son asked for sitting under the tree, but is that really the spirit of Christmas?! All I could think of was Rosa and her family waking up on Christmas Day, as if it was any other day, no gifts or toys to open, no holiday feast to eat, and I decided that was not acceptable. I started making phone calls to friends and family to ask for donations and help in making This Christmas Special for Rosa. I asked the other employees to donate what they could and I would match all the donations given, both from my stores budget, and myself personally. As the help and donations came pouring in, so did my Christmas Spirit. As I made plans to surprise Rosa with all the things on her kids lists, I began to embrace the true meaning of having the Christmas Spirit. For me, It was in helping someone else in need, that I got everything that I wanted that year. With every gift I bought, my Light shined brighter. On Christmas morning I loaded the car with the groceries, gifts, clothes, toys and gift cards for Rosa and her family. I had never seen her look so happy and relieved. She thanked me for the Christmas Miracle, but it was I that truly received the Christmas Miracle. I finally understood that the Christmas Spirit, was in how I could be of service to others in my community, not in the gifts that I would receive. It was one of the greatest lessons I had learned in my 25 years, and something I strive to do everyday since. It is in Giving, that we truly Recieve.
By Chrissy Johnson5 years ago in Humans
