A Christian Christmas
It was only five days before Christmas.
The spirit of the season hadn't
yet caught up with me,
even though cars packed the parking lot
of our Houston area Target Shopping Center.
Inside the store, it was worse.
Shopping carts and last minute shoppers
jammed the aisles.
Why did I come today?
I wondered.
My feet ached almost
as much as my head.
My list contained names
of several people who claimed
they wanted nothing
but I knew their feelings
would be hurt if I didn't buy
them anything.
Buying for someone
who had everything and
deploring the high cost of items,
I considered gift-buying
anything but fun.
Hurriedly,
I filled my shopping cart
with last minute items and
proceeded to the long checkout lines.
I picked the shortest
but it looked as if it would mean
at least a 20 minute wait.
In front of me were two small children -
a boy of about 10 and
a younger girl about 5.
The boy wore a ragged coat.
Enormously large,
tattered tennis shoes jutted
far out in front of his much
too short jeans.
He clutched several
crumpled dollar bills in his grimy hands.
The girl's clothing resembled
her brother's.
Her head was a matted
mass of curly hair.
Reminders of an evening meal
showed on her small face.
She carried a beautiful pair of shiny,
gold house slippers.
As the Christmas music
sounded in the store's stereo system,
the girl hummed along off-key
but happily.
When we finally approached
the checkout register,
the girl carefully placed the shoes
on the counter.
She treated them as though
they were a treasure.
The clerk rang up the bill.
"That will be $6.09," she said.
The boy laid his crumpled dollars
atop the stand while he
his pockets.
He finally came up with $3.12.
"I guess we will have to put them back, "
he bravely said.
"We will come back some other time, maybe
tomorrow."
With that statement,
a soft sob broke from the little girl.
"But Jesus would have loved these shoes, " she cried.
"Well, we'll go home and work some more.
Don't cry. We'll come back," he said.
Quickly, I handed $3.00 to the cashier.
These children had waited in
line for a long time.
And, after all, it was Christmas.
Suddenly a pair of arms came around me
and a small voice said, "Thank you Sir."
"What did you mean when you said
Jesus would like the shoes?" I asked.
The small boy answered,
"Our mommy is sick and going to heaven.
Daddy said she might go
before Christmas to be with Jesus."
The girl spoke,
"My Sunday school teacher said
the streets in heaven are shiny gold,
just like these shoes.
Won't mommy be beautiful walking
on those streets to match these shoes?"
My eyes flooded as I looked
into her tear streaked face.
"Yes" I answered, "I am sure she will."
Silently I thanked God
for using these children
to remind me of the true spirit of giving.
Christmas is not about
the amount of money paid,
nor the amount of gifts purchased,
nor trying to impress friends and relatives.
Christmas is about the love
in your heart to share
with those as Jesus Christ
has shared with each of us.
Christmas is about the Birth of Jesus
whom God sent to show
the world how much he really loves us.
Please show this love
as we think of the upcoming season.
(
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