Jacqueline M. Ruffino-Platt
Did you ever stop and think of all the “Free Stuff” you receive and enjoy every day?
Look up at this instant and see the beautiful blue sky above you and the white clouds.
The air we breathe, the wind that brushes against our skin as we scurry about each and every day. The rain filling up the dark clouds, which burst open and pour all over us.
The rain, which waters our plants and flowers and makes them grow into beautiful samples of life. The rain cools us when it is blistering hot on the pavement. The enchanted glistening of white snowflakes falling from the sky in the winter months.
The kiss you receive from your loved ones, your little children, your parents, your spouses. The hugs we receive from good friends and families. The hugs you give to someone who needs your assurance that everything is okay. The hello, the smiles, the laughter, and the handshake you give to strangers you meet each and every day. The thanks you receive when you hold a door for someone.
Think, my dear friends, of all those special acts you give or receive from someone that didn’t cost one penny. Stop and keep searching and make a list of the Free Stuff in our lives that does not require a payment plan.
The homeless look at the Free Stuff in a different context than we do. The rain is wet, damp, and cold when it pours on them on the cold concrete. No shelter to go to. Do we know what put them there on the streets? We don’t want to pry into their lives.
Sometimes they open up and talk to us. You would be surprised what brought them to the lifestyle they are living in today’s world. Who are these people? Some were educators, business people, and family members, and some are our veterans who have defended our country of the United States.
My husband John and I volunteer on Thanksgiving Day to help serve dinner to the homeless. Many of them living on the street would be invited into the shelters to sit at a table. Hot food was provided by some organizations that devoted their time and loved to cook and serve this delicious food to our unfortunate people. To see their faces light up as their dinner plates loaded with food, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, trimmings, and pumpkin pie was placed down in front of them to share this precious time with others. We all like Free Stuff. But let’s not forget the Free Stuff we take for granted, as I mentioned in the very beginning of my story. Free Stuff which gives us life, happiness, and love, and may God bless us all. I feel very fortunate today. I have these free gifts in our lives, and I give thanks each and every day.