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背后小故事：
1980年12月，Ms. Liz一如既往地在Salt Lake City的家中為家人，朋友，同事準備圣誕禮物，當然還打算捐助Salvation Army等慈善組織。禮物多得甚至沒過了圣誕樹，但Ms. Liz覺得少了一些什么。這時，她想起了當地報紙Deseret News的Santa's Helping Hand，也就是圣誕節幫助困難家庭準備禮物的活動。Ms. Liz報名參加了。收到Helping Hand family的禮物要求時，Ms. Liz震驚了，孩子的內衣。贈送禮物的當天，Ms. Liz和家人備受啟發：Sheltered by our overabundant life, we had forgotten that some people had to live like this. Ms. Liz和家人真正感受到了圣誕節的精髓：給予，幫助和愛。 是的，予人玫瑰，手留余香。
Helping-the Greater Gift
By Ms. Liz
"Shall we do Helping Hand this year?" I asked my husband.
"Mmmm." he replied, and we came to no decision.
We had finished our Christmas shopping unusually early. Like many Christmases, this was an "overspent"one as we tried to fill every request of our five children. The loot nearly submerged the Christmas tree, and Santa was yet to come! My husband's line of work was most rewarding that year. Because he made enough money-even "after inflation," we could give very generously to our children.
We hadn't forgotten our extended family. Parents, brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins received Christmas gives. We gave to my husband's office staff, business associates and to our personal friends.
And our children gave to their friends, teachers and to each other. Three times we replenished our supply of Christmas wrapping paper!
We remembered the less fortunate, too: Salvation Army, Christmas Seals, Quarters for Christmas and United Fund. We provided for people we loved and people who needed.
But something was missing.
As a family we reviewed the marvelous story of the birth of the Christ Child. We listened to Christmas music for weeks and had Christmas decorations throughout the house. Our Christmas cards were mailed.
Yet somehow we felt uneasy, depressed. We could not catch the elusive and sought-after spirit of Christmas.
Every year we talked about providing a Christmas for a Helping Hand family, but we never did sign up. Our children participated at school in the program, but as a family---no.
One early December day, almost on impulse, I called the newspaper. We requested a family with five children, so that each one of ours could have a child to shop for. In a few days we had our family.
I was stunned.
They had requested only one thing through Helping Hand: children's underwear. I stared at the letter in disbelief. After the bounties of my own household, one homely item was incredible.
At Family Home Evening before Christmas, we bought the necessary underwear. Then each child selected two or three things his Helping Hand child might enjoy. My husband and I added a few items for the parents, and we went home to wrap everything.
Two days later, we delivered the gifts. Since the home was quite far from our suburban neighborhood, we had some difficulty finding the address in a rural part of the valley. A single, bare light glowed through a curtainless window. We crossed the frozen pasture and quietly stepped on the porch.
Sitting around a small, black-and-white TV, wearing coats and huddled under blanket, was our Helping Hand family. Three daughters and the mother sat upon a sagging sofa. The father and two children were on the floor, wrapped in an old quilt. There was no other furniture in the room, no Christmas tree.
We were speechless. Sheltered by our overabundant life, we had forgotten that some people had to live like this.
And all the wanted for Christmas was underwear for the children.
We knocked on the door. When the children saw our boxes piled high with colorfully wrapped gifts, their mouths dropped and their eyes sparkled. The father of the family shook our hands and thanked us; the mother hugged us. We stood in the doorway and wept with gratitude and joy.
On the way home we were silent, a million thoughts in our minds. We were humbled, taught and blessed by the tremendous experience of giving-not only to those we love, but also to the truly needy.
But we were the recipients of a far greater gift. For only a fraction of what we lavished on our own family we received the true spirit of Christmas into our hearts.
This is what Christmas---the mission of Jesus Christ---is all about; a personal sharing of abundance and need, a face-to-face loving of our brothers and sisters.
And that is the Christmas I will always remember.
