We tell little children that on Christmas Eve a benevolent fellow travels the Earth dispensing toys, clothes, a bike or 500, and basically spreading joy. What if I told you that you could help someone local do something very similar for only $1? He may even dress like the Jolly old Elf himself or at least, Buddy the Elf. Want to help Spread Joy this Christmas?
Friday, my friend Jed had lunch at a local eatery and asked his server to play a new version of Rock, Paper, Scissors called Santa, Reindeer, and Elf with him. She did. His group finished their meal and left a nice tip for the server. Normal holiday occurrence. However, the next morning, Jed woke up and felt led to do something more for the server. I have that feeling from time to time. The urge that you are to do something and that if you obey that tug, great things will happen. Pay for the person's food in line behind you. Buy an extra meal. There's even that often shared story of the man who felt led to buy a gallon of milk for no reason and deliver it to a specific address only to find the person praying for milk on the other side of the door. I believe that everyone feels the tug on our hearts from time to time and too many people ignore it which is why the world is not filled with even more miracles daily. God uses us to fulfill prayers all the time and sometimes, people choose to not do what is asked of them. BUT sometimes, they do and it brings about great happiness and wonderful things which is why Today, I am writing about JOY.
Jed listened to the feeling. Let me stop here and explain who Jed is. Jed Dearybury is an educator extraordinaire. He taught elementary school, was named SC Teacher of the Year, met President Obama, became a teacher of teachers through fun, out of the box professional development, wrote a book on creating a Playful Classroom, and presents at the Teach Your Heart Out conferences. He also fights for those students whose voices are not always heard. So, his resume is enough to fill a book. He has former students who consider him family. His house looks like it should be a Christmas advertisement for HGTV. He posts his daily Christmas outfits of the day. Jed is amazing for so many reasons but my favorite reason is that...
Jed sparkles. I once quoted to a co-worker the line from Hope Floats where Sandra Bullock tells her daughter that once upon a time, she knew what it felt like to shine. The co-worker laughed and said you sparkle now which is so much better. I was a little taken aback because sparkle sounds a little gaudy, a little like I am trying to grab attention. Nah, he said. Shine comes from being young and naïve. You don't know any better so you shine. You give life everything you have. People notice you because you are new and impressive and well.. shiny. Then, you get a little dulled, a little dinged, a little knowledgeable about how life works. At that moment, you have a choice. You can remain dull and dim or you can choose to sparkle. Yes, that may mean that sometimes, you glue a little sequins on to hide that ding or paste a smile when you really want to go cry but you can either be a light or you can hide. Life is ugly sometimes. You don't have to be. You can choose to be a light in the dark world. You can choose to sparkle. Jed does even though internet trolls come for him and people threaten his well-being in real life, not just behind a computer screen. He sparkles when his job goes away, when people are unbelievably ugly to him. He has shared that sometimes he has to decide to get out of the bed and slay the dragons that say he is not enough but he does it. He does it with JOY and SPARKLES.
One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to watch Jed and his Moma Lynn go Black Friday shopping. They are hilarious. Jed goes live throughout the day and we follow along as they find bargains, get pulled over by the highway patrol, wax poetic about broken ornaments, and basically have the conversations about people out in public that you and your best friend have when no one is listening. It is truly truly truly one of my favorite things to do and this year, I even got a brief cameo. Made my day! Joy! That's also another blog for another day but trust me, next Black Friday, come watch Jed with me.
Back to Saturday morning... Jed wakes up feeling like he is supposed to help the server in some way. He asks his Facebook friends and Instagram followers to donate $1/each to give the lady a large tip for Christmas. And.... people did. People donated $1, $5, $20 and more. Today, the total raised stands around $4,000. I haven't been able to sleep thinking about the difference the money will make in her life. I don't even know her name but I know that amount of money can change a life. Anyone's life. I have laid in bed thinking of all the practical things it can do - provide rent for a few months or buy a small used car or pay for her to move or just give her options. Then, because I am me.. I think of all the amazingly fun things it could do for her - trips and clothes and new furniture and classes... Oh My Goodness, it could be tuition for her to go back to school or a down payment on a house. Just thinking about it makes me so happy. Watching the number grow has brought me so much JOY!
Here's the thing... I firmly believe she prayed for something very specific and Jed woke up Saturday morning with a tug on his heart. When he said yes to that feeling, Jed became the way the prayer was going to be fulfilled. When I donated, I helped change a life. I am filled with Joy because I know God is working.
You just said....Oh no, she is going to ask me to donate. And you know what??? Yep... I am. I have not been able to get this off my mind. I do not believe the final gift is $4000. I believe it is much higher than that. Now, Jed has 8,000 followers and friends on Social Media. We have donated $4000 so far.. I do not have that many followers because I mainly post about travel and books and school. I am relatively boring... However, I count among my friends World Changers. I pride myself on having friends who give to others, to believe that anything is possible when we come together. So, I am asking you to help Jed (and ME) change a life this Christmas season. Help us spread Joy! It is contagious.
Jed is accepting donations through his Venmo @MRDEARYBURY, his CashApp $MRDEARYBURY, and PayPal MRDEARYBURY@Hotmail.com. Please give!
Every $1 helps, but so does every $5 & $10. Thanks everyone!
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