It’s the day before Christmas, and I wanted to share a story
that my, now, 78-year old father shared several years ago about a particular Christmas
Eve almost 50 years ago. Every year,
someone asks him to tell the story, so I wanted to pass along what has become a
part of our Christmas story-telling traditions.
Several years ago, Dad was on a plane traveling home from another
part of our world, and was reminded when he saw no signs of Christmas or the
birth of baby Jesus, just how far we had come from that great event many years
ago. Ten days in lands where the birth
of the Christ child is not a part of their daily lives reminded him to think of
that blessed event in Bethlehem which has changed the lives of those we know
and millions of others that we don’t.
As he pondered the difference this great event made in our
world and how much more is needed for peace on earth, he began to think of
Christmas past. He remembered that
Christmas years ago as a child, when he got the little red wagon he wanted so
much. Not only could he play with it and
make believe, but he could also use it to haul in the firewood for the iron
cook stove from the nearby woods. There
weren’t a lot of gifts in those days, but they still heard the Christmas story
at their little church on the mountain in middle-Tennessee. That seemed more important than the gifts,
anyway, and the story seemed so “clear” with life on their little farm. He just couldn’t imagine a baby lying in
their manger. They didn’t have sheep,
but he envisioned the shepherds on their mountaintop and at night he could see
so many bright stars. But, he wondered,
how did they know which was the star over Bethlehem shining down on the manger
where Jesus lay?
His thoughts moved ahead to his first year in college and
going home for Christmas was a major challenge.
He took the bus from Knoxville home to Bon Air, TN. Then he walked through the snow for 3 miles
to get home. It seemed a long way in the
cold, but now that he’s older, he found that slight. After all, Mary rode a donkey all the way to
Bethlehem and she was great with child.
His trip home for Christmas was so trivial in comparison.
A couple years later, while in veterinary school at Auburn
University, he and my mom traveled home for Christmas with their first born, my
sister, who was about 6 weeks old at the time.
He had paid for her doll on the installment plan; he and mom were
working their way through vet school, and funds were tight. So, it was go home for Christmas in Tennessee
for all the family to see their new born child.
Years later, they left Tennessee and moved to Texas for him
to go to graduate school at Baylor University. As you may know,
graduate fellowships aren’t very much support, especially when you have a
family, too. But on Christmas Eve, there was
a knock at their door. Much to their
surprise, it was a Jewish friend of theirs and his children. His friend immediately exclaimed, “I’m your
Jewish Santa Claus and we bring gifts for all your children!” He might as well have been one of the wise men
who brought gifts for baby Jesus.
Back to his flight home, many other thoughts of Christmas
past came to his mind. After 10 days in
a world without Christmas, he returned to Hong Kong. Upon arriving at his hotel room, the music of
Christmas was playing!! What a joy to be
reminded of the season. Christ indeed still
lives!
Many hours and thousands of miles later, he was back in
Knoxville, He realized throughout the
city, every creature was moving. The town
was all decorated for Christmas. The
crowds rushed about the city from mall to mall, in shop after shop in pursuit
of toys made in China ,
the latest iPod or Xbox. There were toys
of mass destruction containing mercury and lead. The newest DVDs, and cell phones for text
messaging people so you don’t actually have to “talk” to them! As he began to get discouraged, thinking,
“This is not what Christmas is about!” it was time to take toys to Morgan-Scott,
which is the annual Christmas project he and mom’s Sunday school class
participate in together. There were
seven vans and trucks loaded to the brim to bring good cheer to the little
children in the underprivileged, under served community just outside of
Knoxville. Their minds were filled with
joy as they made their way through Oliver Springs, Wartburg, and Sunbright,
because they could make Christmas special for this group of needy families.
But his heart was still not overjoyed. He had to wonder, “Does the star still shine
over Bethlehem? Will there ever be peace
in the middle East?” We worry about our
troops in Iraq and Afghanistan …everywhere. We pray for their safety and wouldn't it be a
blessing if wars could stop and all people could have the peace the baby Jesus’
birth proclaimed? We pray for God’s powerful
hand to show the way, but he already did----if only everyone believed.
It’s now the day before Christmas. Thoughts of family, Christmas dinner, sharing
with one another our memorable Christmas times, our blue Christmases, and maybe
even the “Grinch Stole Christmas” Christmas.
There are health issues, economics, family, relationships and emotional
issues. It can be a time of great joy or
one of major concern. It is often so
busy, we can’t appreciate a “real” Christmas.
But the most awesome experience he will always remember was one Christmas almost 50 years ago,
while our family was living in Kingston, TN.
He was one of the JC’s delivering Christmas boxes to the needy. Naturally, as the local veterinarian, he was
assigned the “out of town”, more rural requests. The evening was getting late, and on
Christmas Eve, he was driving as fast as he could between stops so he could get
home for our family’s own Christmas preparations. He had one more basket to go. It was getting dark, and he was met at the
door of a brand-new house, by an angry man who demanded to know why he was so
late. He noticed through the doorway, he
had already received 2 other boxes from other sources and informed him they made
their deliveries on schedule! He
couldn’t believe what he was hearing!
Thinking fast, he looked at his list and asked him his name. (He already knew his name, but kept it
covered with his thumb.) When he told
him his name, he said, “Oh I’m sorry….I am at the wrong house. You aren’t on my list.” (This was untrue, of course, but he would
deal with that later.) He walked back to
his car and left, not knowing what to do with the undelivered box. He drove through the night trying to decide
what to do, when he saw a dim light in the distance. It was not a bright star as guided the
shepherd or the wise men, but he was neither, so he followed it. The road was unfamiliar, and grew narrow. Soon, it was not paved at all, and it was too
narrow to turn around. He could still
see the dim light ahead in the distance, so he continued to drive toward
it. Eventually, he arrived at the source
of the light. He found a small wooden
shack. He knocked on the door, and a
young lady answered. The contents of the
house were very modest, with furniture and cabinets made of sawmill
lumber. She had a plain scrub pine
Christmas tree decorated with handmade paper chains and under the tree was a 5#
bag of potatoes. She had two children,
one of which was a young baby lying in a hand-made, box-like cradle for a
bed.
He asked the lady her name.
When she replied, he said, “I’m so glad to find you! I’ve been searching all night! I have a Christmas basket for you from the
Jay Cees in Kingston .” “How can this be?” she said. Again, he told a little White Christmas
lie. “But I know you! I have my sources, so wait here until I can
get your Christmas box!”
He brought in the ham, the staples, fresh fruit, some candy
and a few toys. She was shocked and
happy. But before she could comprehend
what was happening, he wished her Merry Christmas, and drove through the night.
Finally, he made it to Highway 58. As he traveled home late
that Christmas Eve, he thought he heard a voice say, “Don’t worry about the
lie---you don’t have to be a shepherd or wise man to worship the Christ
child. But tonight, you had a glimpse of
what they experienced 2000 years ago.”
Today is the day before Christmas. I know there are many amazing and miraculous
Christmas stories out there, but I wanted to share one that is special to me
and my family. May you all enjoy the
blessing of the birth of the Christ child. Merry Christmas to all and to all a
season of blessings!
One final comment, which is something Dad failed to mention,
that was later pointed out by my mother:
Dad went back later to try to find the wooden shack where he delivered
the last basket, and it was no where to be found. He never found the house.
