by Chaplain Adele M. Gill
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so
that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans
15:13
Something wonderful happened this week, at the Soup
Kitchen/Community Outreach where I volunteer once a week. It involved a woman
with special needs named Vicki, and a generous homeless man.
The woman who leads our clothing ministry brought in gifts
for all 100+ guests in attendance to select from. Before our guests came, she carefully
set the gifts out along 6 long tables in the back of the room, and eagerly
anticipated the arrival of our guests. Shortly after we opened, a homeless man
named Charlie, came over to talk with me as he does each week. He and his wife
live in a camper with no running water, no bathroom facility, no electricity,
but they say they feel blessed to “have a place with a roof over our heads.”
Though they are homeless, Charlie is a hard worker, and has held down a full-time
job for some time now. By the grace of God, they are soon moving into an
apartment.
You can imagine how surprised I was when Charlie approached
me at the Christmas celebration that day, and handed me a small, live, 10 inch
small Christmas tree, a spruce, with the pot wrapped in burlap that he had just
gotten from the gift table. “This is for you for helping me and my wife.” “Thank
you” I said, adding, “I can’t take this from you—It’s so beautiful, and you and
your wife should keep it for Christmas!” “No, I insist” he replied. At his
urging, I did finally accept it, and was deeply touched by his very special gift.
Later, Charlie came over again to tell me he had
another gift for me: A long necklace with a string of blinking Christmas lights.
“Thanks! How about if we give these to someone here who would really enjoy
them?” “Ok!” he said. “How about the woman over there with the special needs community
in the purple top? She waved to me twice
earlier today.” “Great idea!” So we went over together right away to give them
to her. Her name was Vickie. When I told her they were for her from Charlie, she
started yelling, “Charlie! Charlie!” as she leaped out of her chair, with arms
extended wide open, she hugged me with great fervor, then grabbed him tight and
hugged him twice, too. “OMG! I can’t believe it! Why me?” “Everyone! Everyone!
Look at my new Christmas necklace! Charlie gave it to me!” Hugging him tightly and
enthusiastically again, he and I were jubilant too, we were deeply moved and
speechless by her joy.
As Charlie and I were walking away from Vickie, side-by-side,
I looked over and saw he was trying hard to hold back the tears, while trying
to compose himself. “You know,” he said, “This is what Christmas is really all
about…”
There is so much to learn from this story:
1) Life
is full of surprises.
2) It
really is the simple, little things in life that give us the greatest joy.
3) Everyone
has something to give others, regardless of finances or circumstances.
4) There
is great joy in giving to others.
5) Sharing
joy can be a life-changing event for all involved.
What a wonderful experience and a Christmas blessing!
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the joy we experienced will be with the 3
of us for many years to come. Believing in the power of God-given joy, I’m sure
Vickie will wear her Christmas lights from Charlie for days, perhaps months, to
come as long as they still light up and blink.
I’m sure that Charlie, in his generosity, experienced profound
joy that day that the likes he has never known before. And me? I will plant my
little Christmas tree from Charlie in the spring, and will always remember Charlie
and Vickie with joy and gratitude, and all that transpired that day. The 3 of
us now have a great, joy-filled Christmas memory. Those who witnessed what
transpired, and those we share this story with, now have a new Christmas story
to tell others. And so we see the ripple wave effect of generosity and joy in
giving and receiving.
What happened that day at the community outreach was not
random—it was clearly a series of God-events that remind us all that true joy
is a God-given gift. We are so grateful to have a loving God of surprises who
enables us to share with others and experience joy--even when we think we have
precious little to give another person. Joy really is contagious. May you
experience joy this Christmas in all things great and small. May you embrace
the joy that only God can give!
©
Copyright 2019 | Adele M. Gill
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