Tuesday, November 16, 2010

One Shot Wednesday

Red Kettle Symphony

Walking down the gray wet sidewalk
my ears are attracted to the familiar
sound: ring, ring, ring, ring
My eyes search for your direction
and my feet keep walking forward...

I turn the corner and there you are.
Lone soul on a mission.
Nose red and purple from the cold,
but your smile is warm and your spirit bright.....

I approach you without a sound
my fingers releasing the silver coins.
"Thank you! God Bless" you say
"You too" I answer as I start
down the gray wet sidewalk.....

It's that time of year again. The Salvation Army Bell ringers are out in full force. My father taught me at a young age to always have extra change in the car, or my purse or pockets so I could give when this season arrived. It was exciting as a child to run up to the bucket and deliver a handfull of change, and it still is exciting to do this as an adult. I have taught my children this lesson as well and as soon as we see a bell ringer they are getting their money ready. My oldest and I have rung the bell as well. They are a terrific reminder of the spirit of the season: to give to others, to lend a helping hand, to be Jesus with skin on....

13 comments:

  1. smiles. T is ringing the bell on friday...and it is a great reminder...

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  2. nice :-) you captured it beautifully!

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  3. A wonderful charity, but I can't say I'm a big fan of the noisy bells... maybe if they played wind chimes or something less jarring? (LOL!)

    Ring-a-ding-ding! Your One Shot's just the thing!

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  4. It is a really wonderful charity. I loved your title and the "jesus with skin on" - that was brilliant. A beautiful reminder that a little adds up to a lot.

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  5. A great literary write to stress the import of a fine charity!

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  6. A great thought and a beautiful verse...

    ॐ नमः शिवाय
    Om Namah Shivaya
    Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
    Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com

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  7. Wow. You've captured it perfectly. (And you are a GREAT Mom! I love how you teach your children by example and involvement, letting them experience the lesson instead of just "hearing" it!)

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  8. Of course, the phrase "Jesus with skin on" leads one to think of its opposite...

    Jesus with skin OFF! (Yikes!)

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  9. Solid work, familiar scenario gets well-written treatment.

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  10. The Salvation Army does a lot of good work..

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