HELPING HANDS

BY MELODY COLLIATIE

To me, one of the most important parts of Christmas is the spirit of giving. For the last three years I've joined with some friends from my church and others from our community to give to others, including an annual project in which we travel to Mexico just after Christmas, to help build houses for those who need them. We do a lot of fundraising to be able to make the trip, and it's a great way for the young people in our Christian Science community to have a giving experience.

Last year, I thought a lot about the connection between giving and humility. and I tried to express more humility every day. To me this meant putting others' interests before mine and knowing that what benefits them will also benefit me. It means to love God and love my neighbor as myself. One dictionary definition of humility that I've found helpful is "to lower in pride; make modest." And of course Jesus explained humility best when he said, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). In my own life, I've met many people who have inspired me to be more humble.

In spite of my efforts at humility, at the end of the year I was not looking forward to doing our church service project. I was feeling like I had done enough community service already, because I'd done other projects throughout the year. And I really didn't think our projects could help. I just didn't see how building one house would make much of a dent in big problems like poverty and homelessness. So as the church community prepared to leave for our next outreach project, I felt annoyed. Couldn't I do better things with my time?

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