Ordinary holiness: The ‘Lay Away Angels’

Dozens of families across the state are benefiting from secret Santas who are paying their layaway bills for Christmas toys. Debbie Byram, seen at the Lewiston, Idaho, Kmart on Dec. 18, 2011, will have an unexpected and unforgettable Christmas after a Christmas Angel paid enough of her layaway to get her daughters' presents home in time for Christmas. (Barry Kough - AP) Anonymous donors are paying off lay away accounts at big box stores around the nation. These so-called “Lay Away Angels” have paid off the balances on the accounts of struggling families saving for toys and children’s clothes. From Oregon to Michigan to Washington, DC and points in between, Americans are stepping up for each other, helping in the most practical way possible—paying the bill so the kids can have Christmas.

Kristen Sepulveda and her daughter Skylar Sepulveda, 9, become emotional after learning that an anonymous donor had paid off the balance of the family's Christmas gift purchases at the Kmart in Costa Mesa Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. (H. LORREN AU JR., - AP)

This is ordinary holiness. It’s different than the image people sometimes have of what makes something “holy.” Isn’t the holy supposed to be something spectacular, a miraculous event accompanied by the sound of trumpets with the heavens opening to reveal a shaft of light? Not really. The holy often looks like the widow who wants to do something nice to remember her deceased husband at Christmas, so she tells the young father at the Kmart lay away counter, “No, I’m paying for it.”

It really is a holy night (and day) when people really carry on the spirit of Christmas as giving to each other, giving not only to family and friends but also to complete strangers.

Ordinary holiness is more common than we think. It’s happening when there is kindness instead of callousness, sharing instead of greed, and compassion instead of hard-heartedness. In the ear-blistering negative rhetoric of a presidential campaign season, it’s easy to miss the sound of one neighbor quietly helping another.
Yoneira Noriega, left, and her mother Anna Noriega leave the Kmart layaway department with their gifts Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 in Costa Mesa, Calif. The happy shoppers arrived at the store to learn that an anonymous donor had paid off the balance of their Christmas gift purchases. (H. LORREN AU JR., - AP)

This story of the “lay away angels” is much needed right now, not just because of the political negativity but even more so because of the economy. This has been a difficult year for many Americans with joblessness, home foreclosures, benefit reductions and the anxiety that comes with not knowing what’s next for you or your family. People anonymously helping each other is inspirational.

The thing about ordinary holiness is that it’s catching. I was inspired, when I first heard these stories, to go find a big box store and contribute a little toward someone’s lay away. I hope you will too.

Make this day and night a little more holy for someone.