Cheese

I didn’t plan on publishing this. It’s just a note that I sent to a family whom I’m helping thorough my parish’s Thanksgiving and Christmas program. But I thought printing it might encourage others to help families in their own areas during the holiday season.

So here goes. . . .

Dear Family of [Children’s Names Deleted]:

I wanted to send y’all a note and thank you for the one you
sent me. Thanks! I appreciate it! 

I know what it is like to need help financially. I have been
so poor that all I could afford to eat was 17-cent boxes of generic macaroni
and cheese. After a summer of that, I couldn’t stand to eat macaroni and cheese
for years, though it had been one of my favorite foods before that.

Later, when I was married, my wife and I were so poor that we had to search the cushions of the
couch for spare change to scrape together enough money to buy a pack of cheap hotdogs
and a can of generic lemonade to have food and drink for the day. We could only
buy the most inexpensive food possible.

My family later offered to help us, but they had no idea how
bad off we were. At one point the subject of cheese came up, and I said:
“Cheese? That’s rich person’s food!” We simply couldn’t afford it.

My family brought over a bunch of food, including several
blocks of cheese, and it was such a gift from God!

Now that Jesus has blessed me and I can help others, I want
to do so. I hope that y’all enjoy what I was able to buy for him and for you.

I tried to get everything that was on the list that the food
pantry suggested for a family of six—plus more—though I wasn’t able to get
marshmallows since the store was out of them. There are extra sweets for the kids in the box, though.

I also made sure that there were some additional things that
the food pantry didn’t suggest.

In particular: I made sure that there were several blocks of
cheese.

The love of Christ be with y’all!

—Jimmy

Parishioner at [My Parish] Catholic Church

If you can, please help the less fortunate in your area this Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

8 thoughts on “Cheese”

  1. That’s a beautiful letter. Would buying food for the poor count as tithing, or should I do it in addition to tithing?

  2. Cheese is also low-carb!
    But really, the personal note probably means as much to the family as the food. I’m with Mother Teresa in that I think that what is often lacking in our care for the poor is true compassion and sincere friendship.
    And, Jimmy, don’t forget Ramen noodles. Those were only about 15 cents each. Ya know what my wife and I used to call a frozen chocolate pie and two forks?
    A date!

  3. Been there. Did you know that after a week of Ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you start to hallucinate about food? I remember crying outside the closed campus convenience store because I so desperately wanted one of their roasted chickens. Growing up, we feasted whenever we were able to qualify for food stamps. Even now, my husband and I rejoice everytime we have meat. Now, that’s rich people’s food! Unlike other countries, almost no one in the U.S. is starving, but many would love to have better quality food.
    Feeding the hungry and the poor definitely would count towards charity tithing.

  4. I was shedding tears yesterday thinking about the less fortunate. I don’t have an outlet for this yet; I just think that God might be pulling me to do something and I don’t know yet how to put this into action.
    I tried searching for volunteer work in my area and I came up with nothing.
    Please pray for me that I will find a way to do what I feel I’m being called to do, or for *whatever* it is that God might be asking from me.

  5. Have you considered sending money for the less fortunate not in your area?
    In foreign parts, Catholic Relief Services is helping the poor throughout the world — often so poor that to have no clean drinking water is not a disaster, like after Katrina, but everyday life.
    In the USA, there’s Covenant House. For children who have literally no where else to go.
    Ouch. Just went back to their site and found that after being hit by Katrina, and then by Rita, they now have a third location: Covenant House Ft. Lauderdale was badly damaged by Wilma. And as it is, many people are donating to hurriciane relief funds instead of Covenant House — and Covenant House still has to look after the children!

  6. Humm — does anyone suspect they know my favorite charities?
    But the effect of disasters on those charities who deal with people who always need help — can be catastrophic.

  7. Outside my local grocery store this weekend, the Kiwanis club was doing something really clever– since the store was doing a “buy one get one free” turkey special, they were all set up to collect everybody’s “free” turkey and then take them to the food bank. It was such a nice, small gesture, because I know from past years that the extra 20 minutes in the car to get to the food bank myself just doesn’t happen. The really cool part was, I’m having Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws this week. So I still bought one turkey and got a free one, and the food bank got both, and I didn’t have to drive extra. Everybody wins.

  8. Outside my local grocery store this weekend, the Kiwanis club was doing something really clever– since the store was doing a “buy one get one free” turkey special, they were all set up to collect everybody’s “free” turkey and then take them to the food bank. It was such a nice, small gesture, because I know from past years that the extra 20 minutes in the car to get to the food bank myself just doesn’t happen. The really cool part was, I’m having Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws this week. So I still bought one turkey and got a free one, and the food bank got both, and I didn’t have to drive extra. Everybody wins.

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