Every kid loves making a Christmas list. Kids love looking through catalogs and store flyers and picking out all the coolest toys. Maybe they send the list to Santa or maybe they just put the list in their parents' trusted hands. A Christmas list allows a child to dream, to dream about what he or she might receive and all the fun that will be had with those toys. But perhaps the most exciting part about the whole Christmas list making extravaganza is waiting for Christmas morning to find out what wishes have been fulfilled.
I'm no longer a kid, but I still make a Christmas list. The past few years I have struggled to write a Christmas list like I did when I was a child. I have been blessed with everything I need and most of what I want. I don't need more "stuff" to clutter my bedroom or my life. And so I have started writing what we might call an alternative Christmas list. My Christmas wish list consists of things I want for other people and for the world.
Here's my Christmas List:
1. A world without hunger, a world where not a single child dies because he or she didn't have anything to eat
2. Sustainable sources of income and access to credit for people living in poverty
3. A world where all children have access to education and all people are literate
4. Clean water for the more than 1 billion people who don't have access to clean water
5. Meaningful work and dignity for people who are considered "unemployable" by many
6. A world where people don't die from preventable and treatable diseases like malaria
Yes, I know my list is a little ambitious. I'm not even sure Santa could pull off a list like this. I know none of these things will be delivered under my Christmas tree this year, and I'm pretty sure that none of you reading have the resources to make my Christmas wishes come true. But here's a more concrete list, which includes some possibilities on how to make my list a reality.
1. A world without hunger: Donate to Feed My Starving Children or to Heifer International (Ducks, bees, or chicks would be nice)
2. Income and access to credit: Purchase an animal through Heifer International (I really really want a llama) or purchase a gift card through Kiva that will allow me to give a loan to an entrepreneur in need of a microloan
3. Education and literacy: Support the work Lutheran World Relief is doing to provide education or buy me a gift certificate for Better World Books
4. Clean water: A gift card for Living Water International
5. Meaningful work and dignity: Purchase me a gift card for Goodwill
6. An end of malaria deaths: Donate to the Lutheran Malaria Initiative. This initiative is working to educate people about malaria while treating and preventing malaria in Africa.
So, that's my Christmas list.
I encourage you all to make your own alternative Christmas list. It's a fun and meaningful experience- it will give you a chance to dream about what a wonderful place the world could be and you will have the opportunity to do some research and see if you can figure out some ways to start making your alternative Christmas list a reality. If you do make an alternative Christmas list, let me know... I'll probably get you something off your list.
