Family in need....

Well, when it rains, it pours. Remember how I posted my lovely stockpile of gravy yesterday? Well, my idea was to post a picture every week of the items I have in abundance to encourage those of you who may be leery of stockpiling.

Well, yesterday(I set up the gravy post about 2 days ago to post yesterday) I found out that my cousin, who I grew up with and is more like a sister to me, is struggling financially. I knew that she was struggling a bit, losing her job in September, but my family didn't know how bad it was until recently. She has a 3 year old son, 19 year old brother, and her mother all living with her. Needless to say, I had to reach out to her, no matter how embarrassed she was, and tell her to let me know what she needed.

I was planning on doing another Karma Box, but it will just have to wait until the new year. I know I will still have plenty of goodies to put into it, but I have to set up a good amount of items to hand over to my cousin.

This is why I stockpile. Some people think that it's silly or a waste of money, time and space, but this is why I do it. I am a giver by nature(which is why I love to do giveaways) and I know that if I have something in abundance, I can share it with those that need it, whether they are strangers or someone close to me. I, of course, make sure my family is covered with what I stockpile, and then I tally what I can share with others. SO yes, that picture of all that gravy is funny, but its wonderful that I can give a good amount of those away, along some of the stockpiled meats and frozen veggies I have. Boxes of noodles and cans of tomatoes will also be given away. Again I say, this is why I stockpile.

To provide even more of a blessing, Hubby was given a substantial amount of retro-pay today. Since we were already working on our debt and bills with his regular check, the retro-pay can be put straight into savings. Now, some of that will be changed into a gift card for our local grocery store.

This season, while we are going out of our way to make sure our immediate family is set to have a wonderful holiday, try to catch up with your other relatives. If you are a stockpiler, mention to them all the wonderful, FREE(even if it wasn't) items that you've collected, and see if they can "take some off your hands." I've done this a few times before, and it really does help. So many of our friends and family members are losing jobs left and right. Take the time to become your "brother's keeper" and offer this to them.

Good deeds are re-paid ten-fold when they are genuine.