If you ever worried that the true meaning of Christmas was getting lost, look no further than the Bladen Journal and Elizabethtown-White Lake Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Empty Stocking Fund for reassurance that it’s not.

In one anonymous gift, a donor summed up what the season is all about: Christ. And another family made their pledge in honor of Christmas.

The Empty Stocking Fund celebrates one of the most important things about this season: Reaching out to those among us who need help.

But as of this moment, we are seriously behind not only the goal of reaching $15,000 but also the totals of any year to date over the past decade. And with the deadline to donate fast approaching, it means either fewer Bladen County children will be reached or those children will receive far less.

It is understandable the Empty Stocking Fund may be further down on your list of priorities this year. We know that, on top of all the usual things that keep us busy during the Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s holiday season, we are also still recovering from the ripple effects of Hurricane Matthew.

But while that means many of you who normally would contribute to the Empty Stocking Fund are instead forced to use it for storm recovery, the other side of that coin is that there are many more families who won’t have a joyous Christmas because of the devastation to their property.

It certainly puts the Empty Stocking Fund between a rock and a very hard place.

There is no doubt we are all being tested, and it is our hope that the true spirit of Christmas will prevail. If you haven’t given before, now is the time; if you have given a little before, now is the time to dig deeper.

We only have until Monday to reach as many of those children who have been verified by the Bladen County Department of Social Services in need of a Christmas miracle. Your dollars are that miracle, and the amount you give doesn’t matter if it comes from the heart.

Making that donation is easy:

— A check or cash can be delivered to the Bladen Journal office at 138 W. Broad St. in Elizabethtown during regular business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

— A check made out to Bladen Journal Empty Stocking Fund can be mailed to the Bladen Journal, P.O. Box 70, Elizabethtown, N.C. 28337.

— A Bladen Journal staff member can come by and pick up any contribution you may have during regular business hours.

The Bladen Journal will collect donations through Monday — along the way, contributions will be listed in the newspaper. Those who prefer may remain anonymous or contribute in memory of someone else.

Please consider a donation today.

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“When you have a good heart: you help too much, you trust too much, you give too much, you love too much and you sleep more peacefully.” (Anonymous)