By: Joseph J. Mazzella

I have never been a rich man when it comes to money. God has blessed me with more than enough to meet all my family??™s needs, but like most people I am still about a million dollars shy of being a millionaire. Still, I do try to give what I can to several charities that I know do good work in this world. One of them is Covenant House (www.covenanthouse.org), a shelter for children who have either run away from abusive homes or been forced out onto the streets.

Recently someone asked me if I thought it was doing any good sending my few dollars to this charity every month. I thought about it for awhile and put myself in the place of a young boy or girl having been tossed out on the street by a family who no longer wanted me or on the run from terrible abuse. I saw myself cold, alone, hungry, and afraid struggling to survive on the streets. I saw myself being victim to pimps, gangs, and drug pushers. I saw myself wondering if I would even live through the night. I then saw myself seeing a number on a wall or phone booth offering me the slightest chance of hope. I saw myself dialing 1-800-999-9999 and praying to God that it wasn??™t some cruel joke. I saw a van meeting me and rushing me to a shelter where the staff greeted me with kindness, love, and smiles. I smelled the hot meal they gave to me, felt the warm blanket around my shoulders, and heard the offers to protect me, help me, and give me a second chance to live again. I felt the relief in my soul to know that I was still loved by God and cared about by others. I felt the joy that was long dead in me stir to life once again.

When I thought about all that I knew my few dollars were doing a lot of good. I knew that God had given me the greatest wealth in the world: being able to help a child live again. I knew that my small gift sent to Covenant House was helping me to keep the greatest covenant of all: to love God, myself, and others. http://www.covenanthouse.org