MISSING JESUS
About a week before Christmas, our family bought a new nativity scene.
When we unpacked it, they found two figures of the Baby Jesus. "Someone
must have packed this wrong," mother said, counting out the figures.
We have one Joseph, one Mary, three wise men, three shepherds, two
lambs, a donkey, a cow, an angel and two babies. Oh, dear! I suppose
some set down at the store is missing a Baby Jesus because we have
two."
You two run back down to the store and tell the manager that we have
an
extra Jesus. Tell him to put a sign on the remaining boxes saying that
if a set is missing a Baby Jesus, call 7126. Put on your warm coats,
it's freezing cold out there."
The manager of the store copied down Mother's message and the next
time
they were in the store they saw the cardboard sign that read, "If you're
missing Baby Jesus, call 7126."
All week long we waited for someone to call. Surely, we thought, someone
was missing that important figurine. Each time the phone rang, mother
would say, "I'll bet that's about Jesus," but it never was. Father
tried to
explain, there are thousands of these scattered over the country and
the figurine could be missing from a set in Florida or Texas or
California. Those packing mistakes happen all the time. He suggested
we
just put the extra Jesus back in the box and forget about it.
"Put Baby Jesus back in the box! What a terrible thing to do" we
children said. "Surely someone will call," mother said. "We'll just
keep
the two of them together in the manger until someone calls."
When no call had come by 5:00 on Christmas Eve, mother insisted that
father just run down to the store to see if there were any sets left.
"You can see them right through the window, over on the counter," she
said. "If they are all gone, I'll know someone is bound to call
tonight."
"Run down to the store?" father thundered. "It's 15 below zero out
there!"
"Oh, Daddy, we'll go with you," Tommy and Mary began to put on their
coats. Father gave a long sigh and headed for the front closet. "I
can't
believe I'm doing this," he muttered.
Tommy and Mary ran ahead as father reluctantly walked out in the cold.
Mary got to the store first and pressed her nose up to the store window.
"They're all gone, Daddy," she shouted. "Every set must be sold."
"Hooray," Tommy said, "The mystery will now be solved tonight!" Father
heard the news still a half block away and immediately turned on his
heel and headed back home.
When we got back into the house we noticed that mother was gone and
so
was the extra Baby Jesus figurine. "Someone must have called and she
went out to deliver the figurine," my father reasoned, pulling off
his
boots.
"You kids get ready for bed while I wrap mother's present."
Then the phone rang. Father yelled, "Answer the phone and tell 'em
we
found a home for Jesus." But it was mother calling with instructions
for
us to come to 205 Chestnut Street immediately, and bring three blankets,
a box of cookies and some milk.
"Now what has she gotten us into?" my father groaned as we bundled
up
again. "205 Chestnut. Why, that's across town. Wrap that milk up good
in
the blankets or it will turn to ice before we get there. Why can't
we
all just get on with Christmas? It's probably 20 below out there now.
And the wind is picking up. Of all the crazy things to do on a night
like this."
When we got to the house at 205 Chestnut Street it was the darkest
one
on the block. Only one tiny light burned in the living room, and the
moment we set foot on the porch steps, my mother opened the door and
shouted, "They're here, oh thank God you got here, Ray! You kids take
those blankets into the living room and wrap up the little ones on
the
couch. I'll take the milk and cookies."
"Would you mind telling me what is going on, Ethel?" my father asked.
"We have just walked through below zero weather with the wind in our
faces all the way."
"Never mind all that now," my mother interrupted. "There is no heat
in
this house and this young mother is so upset she doesn't know what
to
do. Her husband walked out on her and those poor little children will
have a very bleak Christmas, so don't you complain. I told her you
could
fix that oil furnace in a jiffy."
My mother strode off to the kitchen to warm the milk while my brother
and I wrapped up the five little children who were huddled together
on
the couch. The children's mother explained to my father that her husband
had run off, taking bedding, clothing and almost every piece of
furniture, but she had been doing all right until the furnace broke
down. "I been doin' washin' and ironin' for people and cleanin' the
five
and dime," she said. "I saw your number every day there on those boxes
on the counter. When the furnace went out, that number kept goin'
through my mind -- 7162, 7162. Said on the box that if a person was
missin' Jesus, they should call you. That's how I knew you were good
Christian people, willin' to help folks. I figured that maybe you would
help me, too. So I stopped at the grocery store tonight and I called
your missus. I'm not missin' Jesus, mister, because I sure love the
Lord. But I am missin' heat. I have no money to fix that furnace."
"Okay, Okay," said father. "You've come to the right place. Now let's
see. You've got a little oil burner over there in the dining room.
Shouldn't be too hard to fix. Probably just a clogged flue.
I'll look it over and see what it needs."
Mother came into the living room carrying a plate of cookies and warm
milk. As she set the cups down on the coffee table, I noticed the figure
of Baby Jesus lying in the center of the table. It was the only sign
of
Christmas in the house. The children stared wide-eyed with wonder at
the
plate of cookies my mother set before them. Father finally got the
oil
burner working but said, "You need more oil. I'll make a few calls
tonight and get some oil. Yes ma'am, you came to the right place,"
father grinned.
On the way home father did not complain about the cold weather and
had
barely set foot inside the door when he was on the phone. "Ed, hey,
how
are ya, Ed? Yes, Merry Christmas to you, too. Say Ed, we have kind
of an
unusual situation here, I know you've got that pick-up truck. Do you
still have some oil in that barrel on your truck? You do?"
By this time the rest of the family were pulling clothes out of their
closets and toys off of their shelves. It was long after our bedtime
when we were wrapping gifts. The pickup came. On it were chairs, three
lamps, blankets and gifts. Even though it was 30 below, father let
us
ride along in the back of the truck.
No one ever did call about the missing figure in the nativity set,
but
as I grow older, I realize that it wasn't a packing mistake at all.
Jesus saves, that's what He does.
Author unknown