Coatless in Seattle

It snowed last night! It gets really cold in Seattle only a couple of times a year for those of us who live indoors with a heater. Like today--the 1-3 inches of snow is beautiful--we defrost our car windows and rejoice in the rare winter wonderland. We got out the snow clothes and the kids rampaged around the yard, oblivious to their red cheeks and noses and the biting cold.

There are 1000's of our friends and neighbors however, like the good people served by Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, www.ugm.org, who are truly freezing tonight. Emergency shelters like the City Hall building and others lay mats on the floor with no blankets for the people dealing with homelessness, but there are still plenty of folks outdoors. Operation Nightwatch http://www.seattlenightwatch.org/ will serve 100's of hot meals this weekend at about 10 pm, and UGM will serve a hot breakfast about 7am, but that's a long interval to attempt to stay warm, safe, and dry--something most of us take for granted.

I'm off to a Christmas party where over 100 of our church family will get all dressed up and enjoy each other's company by a roaring fire with great snacks and live music. I'm looking forward to it. But I also think about a family far from home, traveling on foot, lacking medical care, having a baby in a barn, and soon thereafter fleeing as refugees to a different continent. I wonder who met their needs? I wonder who invited them in out of the cold? I wonder who cooked dinner and bought diapers? I wonder if we could help, here in Seattle, or wherever you are...