For Melissa Turman of Gering, Christmas Day used to be about opening presents, enjoying her new gifts, and spending time with her family. About 8 years ago, however, she began volunteering her time on Christmas Day to help with the annual Christmas Dinner in the Valley. She’s now in her fifth year as the co-organizer of the event, and she said serving others on the holiday has brought her more joy than she could have ever imagined.
JEFF FIELDER Editor
GERING – Melissa Turman of Gering used to spend Christmas Day opening presents, enjoying her new gifts, eating big dinners with her family, and then relaxing and enjoying conversations with family members.
About eight years ago, however, Turman started to feel a little guilty about the way she was celebrating Christmas Day.
“I just came to a realization that I had been spending Christmas Day very selfishly,” she said. “I was treating Christmas like it should be about me and the things I wanted to do that day, like opening presents. It finally hit me, though, that I shouldn’t be spending Christmas like that. I needed to be thinking about other people – loving and serving other people.”
Around that time, the church she was attending, Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff, was asking for volunteers to help prepare and serve a meal on Christmas Day to people who were less fortunate. Turman jumped at the opportunity.
“I thought, ‘This is perfect. I really want to be part of this,’” she said. “I went there on Christmas Day and served for a while. I wasn’t there the full day, and I didn’t do any of the behind-the scenes things, but I still really enjoyed it. I couldn’t wait to help again the next year.”
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