Hey Gang: If you have been tuned into the Gramps
Morning Messages since its inception eight years ago, you have probably heard a
message similar to this around each Christmas Season, for I have learned,
through my 85 years, that it is not the gift that builds memories but the joy
of anticipation - waiting to see if you would be blessed with that very special
wish of your heart.
If someone
were to ask me if I remember any very special gifts that I waited for with
great anticipation, I would quickly reply, “Yes”! Actually, two: one where I
was the recipient of a very special gift and one where I gave a very special
gift.
I was born in
depression time and work was hard to find. My Dad, being limited in his
education, was forced to seek jobs that others would not consider. He was a coal miner in the mountains of
Pennsylvania. In those days the coal
miners lived in survival mode, with nary a penny to spare.
In the summer
of my fifth year I saw a picture of a yellow truck that was very special – it
had a dumping capability! Keep in mind
that was eighty years ago and toys did not have all the bangles and beads they
have today. I dreamed about that truck
every day and, every night, the truck found its way into my “Lay me down to
sleep” prayers.
I don’t know
how she did it, but my mother had gift of stretching dollars; each Christmas
she would lift the rug and take out the few dollars she had laid aside so that we
would not forget the joys of Christmas.
Well,
Christmas Eve arrived, and I went to bed with such anticipation - surely that
little yellow truck would be under the tree the next morning. But, when morning
came, and I ran to the tree, there was no little yellow truck! Instead there was a note with my name on it
that said, “If you follow the instructions in this note you will find a
treasure at the end of the path.”
The snows in
the mountains that year were very heavy, so the path was vey short and easy to
follow. One only had to follow the foot
steps of the one who made them in the snow, and made this miracle a reality for a five-year-old
who had but one dream – a little yellow truck!
Well, I am sure you have guessed by now, at the end of the path was the
little yellow truck.
As I think
back to that morning, when a little guy who had one wish was given that wish
after months of anticipation, I realized it was not the truck that made it so
special but the anticipation of dreaming about that truck. I also learned how-very-much my mother loved
me and sacrificed so that my dream could be fulfilled.
I also learned
that there was a fringe benefit that comes with the joy of anticipation. Every morning when I picked up the little
yellow truck, I knew my mom made a sacrifice to make sure I had my dream
fulfilled.
It also opened
my heart to the true meaning of Christmas.
It is not the bangles and beads, the gifts and wrapping, the trees or
the trees decorated with lights and trimming,
it is the truth that “God so loved
me that He sent His only begotten Son to earth to walk in my shoes, carry my burdens and sins to the cross and
prepare me for a day when I will be with Him for all eternity.” (Hillbilly
rendition).
Tune in
tomorrow and see what that other very special gift of anticipation is that remains a very important, even essential
part of my life.
Blessings,
Gramps
No comments:
Post a Comment