As the year comes to an end, I thought it's a good time to do some spring cleaning and get rid of stuff that's been lying around the house ---- unseen, untouched and obviously "un-missed"!

I loaded up into the car boot 6 bagfuls of books, clothes, kitchenware, gadgets, etc. and I drove to the Salvation Army booth to deposit these things.

Oh me, oh my!
The shed that stores all these public contributions was filled to overflowing.
Yes --- we may feel proud of our generosity to this charitable organisation...... but look closer....and see.....toys are broken, clothes look like rags, books are ripped and falling apart, and furniture that's put there can hardly stand on its own!

Is that a mistaken rubbish dump?
Or are we so heartless and unkind to the needy that we give them what they cannot even use?

As I checked my own heart, I remembered this story about Gandhi:

He had boarded a train, but one of his shoes slipped off and fell on the track. As the train was already moving, Gandhi took off his other shoe and threw it back to land close to the other shoe on the track. His friend was puzzled and asked why he did that. And Gandhi said:
"So that the poor man who finds the shoe on the track will have a pair he can use."

Now....that is a true heart of care and charity!