How one turkey made a difference

We are over a week past Thanksgiving, have eaten up the turkey leftovers, and are busy into the holiday season.  But I had to take a moment and share this story that was sent to me recently.  You have often heard me say that every turkey counts.  Well, here's an example of how one turkey makes a difference.

"I wanted to share the story of one turkey, among the 19,000 distributed this year by Foodshare.  My 24 year old  son finished his military service this year and returned home. He had a wife and two small kids. All of them stayed with me for several months but the strains on their marriage proved to be too much and they separated.

"Without a job, with his marriage gone and his car repossessed he sunk into a deep depression. When he wasn’t caring for his kids he was sleeping, drinking or staring blankly at the television. I seriously worried about his will to continue living.

"A few months ago he began to get counseling at a local agency that works with Foodshare. The caring staff made a real impression. He had sought counseling while in the service but never had help long enough for it to make a difference. He told me that 'for the first time I really feel like they care about me as a person.'

"A few days before Thanksgiving I picked him up from his counseling session and his arms were loaded up. He had a frozen turkey and a bag full of side dishes. We rearranged the Thanksgiving day schedule so that he had the morning free to cook the bird and we arranged for his kids to be dropped off in time to eat it. I sensed he had a feeling of real joy at being able to provide the dinner, not having had a steady paycheck since leaving the military.  Thanksgiving morning he told me he was 'too excited about the turkey' to sleep well the night before. His spirits were high on Thanksgiving day and we had a wonderful time.

"Thanks to the anonymous person who donated that turkey, those who support the agencies who help people in need and thanks to Foodshare for bringing all of those things together. This year I really saw how it makes a difference in the lives of people who may live right next door- people like my son, his kids and me."