Tap, tap, tap came the sound. I wasn't sure from where, but it certainly was a tap, tap, tap kinda sound. There it went again, tap, tap, tap and this time as I re-entered Earth's atmosphere I realized it was merely someone at the front door.
Duh!
No one ever comes to the front door unless it's an occasional package delivery during the day. This was evening, and besides it was Christmas – ain't no delivery person that's for sure, so I opened the door very cautiously. It helps if you read this with a Elmer Fudd voice in your head. I opened the door very cautiously.... See much funnier!
On the other side of the glass storm door was a small, three foot-something, little girl with a bag in her hands. Un-threatened, I opened the last gate of protection and said “Hey there!” in my goofy, down-south kinda way. She ignored the process of giving the typical response we grown-ups offer each other and jumped directly to the point of her visit; “Y'all want dees taters?” as she held the bag up a little higher.
Now, to say this engagement on Christmas night caught me off guard would be a definite understatement. Here I was, all snugged up in comfort, sitting on the sofa watching a ballgame and out of nowhere I'm attacked by some weird kid I've never laid eyes on before, armed with a snaggle-tooth smile and a partial sack of potatoes. What the heck!
New Year's resolution number one - get a guard dog, or at least one of those recorded barking devices for such situations as this.
My immediate response was, “No thanks!” but then, unexplainably I asked, “How much you want for 'em?” Apparently, somewhere in my mind I had quickly figured her parents had sent her out with these, (probably semi-rotten) “taters” to raise some funds for their immediate need for cigarettes or whatever. Ah ha, a scheme using a innocent looking little girl to separate me from what little money I have. I knew it! I watch television – I know how these things work – it's the ol' sell taters door-to-door to get rich quick thingy. I may be a bit slow when caught off guard, but I've learned to keep one hand on my wallet at all times for just this very reason.
“Nothing, they're free if you want 'em” the girl stammered out as she stared up at the man in the doorway with the amazed, bewildered, and embarrassed look on his face. Again, What the heck!
As I began to turn down her offer again I immediately saw the look of disappointment come across her face, so I swallowed the lump in my throat, stopped mid-sentence and said in a shaky voice, “Sure we'll take 'em.” But before I could offer her something in return ie; a couple bucks, a cookie, my personal insight as to who was going to win the football game, or a simple 'thank you' she ran down the steps and into the night. She left me standing at the door holding five pounds of store bought potatoes, and feeling like an idiot for being so mistrusting on the one day of the year when most of us stress the importance in the act of giving. I really suck at this stuff!
Dale looked up as I walked across the living room with the sack and asked; “What's that?” and without hesitation I responded, “taters.” She asked where they came from, and I told her what you now know. She had a puzzled look on her face as well. Ain't every day you get free taters from a six year old you've never seen before, or at least this was my first encounter with such a thing - your story may be different.
Been nearly a week now and I can't get this off my mind. A thousand questions and scenarios raced across my mind Christmas night, but I wasn't sure which theory came the closest to being the truth – if any. Each time I'm outside now I've been on the lookout for that little girl. I want to get to the bottom of the free taters case, but I don't want to scare the ba-Jesus out of her in the process. Haven't seen hide nor hair, but I'm still looking. Couldn't claim to be much of a Private Investigator if I can't solve this mystery, now could I? My reputation is at stake here, so I'll not rest until I know exactly what transpired, and trust me, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out. I'm sure you can hardly stand the suspense. Right!
A few weeks ago as I was sitting on the sofa watching a ballgame at night with my mind adrift, (Are you starting to see a pattern here?) when something struck home with me. I was thinking about all the things I was involved with at this time last year. Teaching GED students, working at a homeless shelter giving away coats, coaching a bunch of first and second graders in basketball, participating in a couple of mid-week Bible study classes, and helping in some small ways to build a church on the outskirts of a housing project, and oh yeah, I worked full-time as well. Yet, here I was a year latter sitting on the sofa night after night watching the Outback - Mighty Muffler – Frito-lay - Holiday Punch Bowl games with little to no interest in who won or lost. Wasting away again, as Jimmy Buffett and I like to say!
Then I heard God say, (and don't you just love it when someone says this) “For the third time now, I'm telling you there's a nursing home right across the street where you could be sharing My message of love.” and for the first time this year I took this notion seriously. For literally “right across” the street from our home (say a mere thirty yards or so) really is a nursing home - and that really was the third time this year I've mentally heard the words “Go there”.
A game plan started developing in my mind and heart that night and by the next morning I was on the phone with the Administrator explaining to her that I was her neighbor across the street and simply wanted to bring over a gift for each of their patients the week of Christmas. She excitedly said, that would be terrific! Then I asked how many patients they had, a question I probably should have started the conversation with. One hundred and twenty or so was her answer. “Whew, that many” I struggled to say as I swallowed hard. "Okay, I'll be over in few weeks." As I hung up the phone I said; Okay God, this is your idea so you better come through here - please.....
You see, this hasn't exactly been the best of financial years for me. Unemployed, trying to start up a company of my own, poor economy etc, etc... You know where I'm coming from because many of you are facing the same struggles. Few of us see ourselves as blessed as my friend Ken, who has declared all along that as far as the economic recession or depression we're going through is concerned - he simply chooses not to participate. Which I simply love his attitude!
Anyway, that day I headed down to the store and bought up as many boxes and packs of brownie mix as I could afford. What I had planned on doing was to make all the patients a very modest little treat bag (like the ones I used to get as a little kid when I went to the Christmas program at church with my Papaw) with all kinds of assorted fruits, nuts, candies and baked goods. The problem was, I hadn't figured on a hundred and twenty something, (more like half that) so now the scope of the project was going to be much bigger than my original vision. I think God really enjoys doing stuff like this to me!
As soon as Dale found out what I had in mind she jumped into the act and started baking cookies - as she'll do almost anything to keep me from making a mess in her kitchen. Actually, she'll do almost anything to help show God's love to others is what motivated her to pitch in as usual. With brownies, fudge (which we won't talk about) and Christmas cookies in the works I headed off to the local produce shop to do a little haggling over the selling price for cases of fruit. I explained to the feller how many oranges, tangerines and apples I needed and that the apples needed to be of the soft variety for the elderly patients to enjoy. We shook hands after settling on a price, and I headed out to seek God's help with raising the money.
Without going into all the details, I can truly say God came through as usual with the resources to make all this happen - for I know without any doubt it came from Him!
Dale had a great idea as we bought plain ol' brown paper lunch bags and several packs of Christmas stickers and decorated the bags ourselves. We wrapped the brownies and cookies (again, I refuse to talk about my botched attempt to make fudge- ain't going to go there) and prepared the candy and other items for the bagging process. Instead of traditional Christmas cards I copied down the scripture where Jesus told the parable of the widow-woman and her offering of the two copper coins and printed it onto pieces of paper and placed one in each bag.
Our dining room looked more like an assembly line operation for days. I headed back down to the produce stand,simply called The Corner Market where I found God was still at work. The previously agreed upon price was still in affect for the cases of fruit, so I paid that amount. But then, the owner and his wife (I assume that was who they were) started bagging up more and more fruit to give to the process at no extra cost. I was amazed at their generousity! I loaded my van with boxes and bags of fruit which just a week earlier I couldn't have afforded.
Last Tuesday arrived rather quickly as we got the nearly 150 bags made up (a few for the staff as well) and my wonderful mother-in-law and son joined in as we made it across the street with the goodies. I stepped into the nursing home for the very first time that day, and I knew immediately it was exactly where God had called me to be. We talked and smiled and laughed with so many wonderful people that day. I received hugs, kisses, hand-shakes, advice, and compliments that far outweighed the bags of fruit and stuff we handed out over the span of a few precious hours that day.
Every person I spoke to on the wing where the windows faced our home commented on the work Dale and I had done landscaping and decorating the front of our house all year. I had no idea we had such an audience, so we'll have to do an even better job making the place look nice next year. And oh yeah, I'll be sure to never pick my nose or scratch my behind outside again. Important lesson here, you never know who's watching!
Included in this group was a ninety-two year old woman that had requested they move her to a room on that wing, so she could see our house. For, as she tells the story that is the place she was born in 1917. Her daddy had built our farm house around the turn of the century and it was her only home as a child. I feel so much more proud of our humble little farm house knowing some of the wonderful history it holds. Thank you Jeanette! What a wonderful experience we had that day being blessed in so many ways by such loving, yet somewhat lonely friends. I've lived here for more than eight months now and this was my first visit across the street to meet the neighbors. I feel ashamed but I assure you it won't be my last visit there.
Free taters, kisses, hugs, smiles, tears, little girls, senior citizens, produce shop keepers filled with the spirit of Christmas as well as being reminded in a very tangible way of a well-known parable about giving from the heart as opposed to only giving from our surpluses - God working in amazing, yet simple ways through so many people to give me such a wonderful Christmas gift this year. As you know, I don't typically speak of things such as this, because I believe we take something away from our blessings when we tell others what we've done - but in this situation I feel led to share what God did over the past few weeks. It brings to light even more so, how wonderful His love for each of us truly is.
He reminded me once again, it's doing the small stuff that really matters in His kingdom. You don't have to spend a great deal of money, or make every project in ministry an elaborate event – we simply need to do it out of our love for Him. He used all of the things I've written here to carry a message to my heart – a message I needed to hear. I learned this past week that what He really wants me to do is to quit longing to return to the things He has blessed me with in the past and take sight of what He has in store for me today, which just so happens to include a nursing home full of wonderful people that need to see His love a little bit more.
His un-failing love, as well as His miraculous birth - both amazing stories being celebrated this year in my little piece of the world, how bout yours?
I guess you've figured it out by now, I've solved the case of the free taters, so let's get back to watching some college football games, whatta ya say.
Happy New Years! Doug
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