The Rest of The Story

The Rest of the Story – Christmas Eve, 1959

Christmas Eve, 1959, had proven to be an unexpected day for my siblings and me.  Dad had found a family who would have no Christmas; we had – with much encouragement from Dad and Mom – chosen to share ours with them.  Though we were thrilled with the excitement of the family who received our turkey, tree, trimmings, and even half of our gifts, we were less than thrilled at the prospect of our pared-down holiday.

We moped about our house, seemingly so empty without the foil Christmas tree in the window.  We looked forlornly at the pitiful single present which each of us would receive on Christmas morning, failing to note that Mom and Dad had none under the tree.  We saw the chicken defrosting in the kitchen, so small in comparison to the turkey which had found its way down the street and into the oven of our newest friends.  I confess that we were less than joyful at sharing with others. 

As the oldest sibling at home, I could sense my dad’s disappointment with our pouting more than my brother and sisters.  I knew that Mom and he were praying that we would glimpse the truth of God’s Word which was escaping us at the moment:  It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).  Dad had tried to teach us that we were never to give to get, but that God loves a cheerful giver, (2 Corinthians 9:7).  He also taught us that we can never yield anything to the Lord that God does not restore a hundred fold, both in this life and in the life to come (Mark 10:29-30).  God does not place anything in a tightly clenched fist; we are to hold the blessings of this life, loosely, allowing them to flow both in and out.  I have to tell you, though, that this eleven-year-old wasn’t buying it at the moment.

Shortly after noon, there was a knock at the door.  I happened to open the door.  Imagine my surprise as I saw a Christmas tree standing at the door.  I heard the voice of a man from our church coming from behind the tree, as he asked if my dad happened to be at home.  Somewhere, in the back of my young mind, I remembered that several years earlier, this man had been in need.  As always, my dad had reached out to him. As time passed, he had become a successful businessman but had always loved our family for my dad’s kindness to him in the name of the Lord.

As dad opened the door for our friend, he drug in a small, but beautiful, Christmas tree, perfect in every way.  He, then, excused himself and went back out to his car, bringing in a basket, filled with not only a turkey, but also a ham, complete with trimmings, candies, fruit, and nuts.  His only explanation was that, as he shopped that morning for his own family, God had brought ours to his mind.  He said he was unsure if we could use any of it for Christmas Day, but that he hoped we could use it in the future.

As mom brought him a cup of coffee, the gentleman noticed the rather forlorn array of packages in the corner of the room where our foil Christmas tree had previously lived.  As he glanced at the few boxes, he said to my mom, I suppose Santa will be bringing gifts tonight.  My mom gently explained that our family didn’t do Santa.  He went on to say, Oh, I see.  Gifts go out after the kids go to bed.  My mom smiled and said, Our children have everything they need.  One look from her shushed my astonished outburst of all they things that I wanted but did not have.  As understanding dawned upon our visitor, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a $100 dollar bill, which he thrust into my mom’s hand.  She tried to give it back to him, exclaiming, again, the truth that we children had all we needed.  With tears in his eyes, he asked that she allow him to bless us as God had blessed him.  With that, he was gone as quickly as he had come.

We children had been given a great gift that Christmas.  It had nothing to do with a Christmas tree, a turkey, or a $100 dollar bill.  What it did have to do with was the truth that Christmas exists for the sole purpose of giving – the gift of Jesus Christ to a lost, hurting, and dying world.  It had to do with releasing our possessions to others.  It was about a heart that hears the needs of others before it hears our own desires.  It would be enough if the story stopped right there.  As always, though, God takes His love to another level.

Several years ago, my brother, a pastor in Texas, and my youngest sister had gone together to a revival meeting in east Texas.  While there, a pastor gave his testimony, introducing a ministry he had begun to help families in need around the holidays.  As he shared his story of the love of Jesus Christ in his life, he told that many years ago, his family had been in desperate shape around Christmas.  They had lost nearly everything in a house fire and were living in a damaged home near Dallas, Texas, when a pastor and his family had shared Christmas with them.  More important than that, though, the pastor had shared Jesus Christ with them, making such an impression on this young boy that he had yearned to be used in his life as a preacher.  God had answered that yearning by calling that young man as a pastor and burdening his heart to begin a ministry to families in need in his community.

My brother sat there in disbelief, thinking the similarities impossible.  Immediately following the service, my brother and sister made their way to this pastor.  My brother asked where he had grown up, and the pastor replied that it was in an area called Urbandale.  Shaking his head at God’s goodness in sometimes choosing to reveal the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say, my brother asked if it had lived on a street called Red Bud Drive.  Upon affirmation, my brother told him that it was our dad who had stood in his living room so many years ago. 

Indeed, the turkey was gone and the tree had fallen apart, but the real gift that our dad had shared that night continues to this day.  Jesus Christ lives in the heart of that family and that pastor, and He continues to reach out to others in need.  

Again, Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift…  the Lord Jesus.  (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Next week - Gerry's taking a break.  Her next post will be Wednesday, Jan 5, 2011.  Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

© 2010 Gerry Sisk

(12/22/10)