[This is a true story and has been turned into a short film and a country
western song]
It was only a few days before Christmas. The spirit of the season hadn’t
yet caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our local
discount store. Inside the store, it was worse. Shopping carts and last
minute shoppers jammed the aisles. Why did I come today? 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 5 and a
younger girl. 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 searched 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 lady.”
“What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked. The
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.”
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”