Traveling the Rock Road

I know I usually don’t post on Thursday and now that Christmas is behind us, I just wanted to share a little something with you.

It was some twenty-five years ago I had to run out to a convenience store on Christmas day. You parents know the routine; buy the kids things that need batteries and then forget the batteries. The store was packed with people and only one girl was behind the counter trying to move folks though with their purchases as fast as she could. But she seemed to be having her share of problems and some were getting a little agitated with the long line and wait. The man in front of me was losing patience and said in a loud voice, “Come on!” I guess he thought it would be a motivator for the girl. Still she struggled and it was obvious she was more than a little flustered. When the man in front of me reached the counter, he wasn’t a bit shy in letting her know his frustration and how she wasn’t smart enough to do a simple job. He walked out and now I was standing in front of this child. Her eyes were filling with tears and she was doing everything she could not to cry. Facing her, I told her she was doing a hard job, but she was doing it well, just relax. My words didn’t seem to make a difference, so I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a candle I had made. “Here, take this and every time you start feeling overwhelmed unscrew the top and smell the fragrance; it will help you relax.” I left her with a smile and “Merry Christmas, Beautiful,” and for the first time, she smiled back.

On the way back home, I felt good for what I did for that girl, but I thought there must be a lot of people that have to work the holiday and not be with their family. So that started a tradition for my Lady and me. Every Christmas morning, we would get up early, load the car with boxes of candles and make our way around to every business that was open and had people working. That took in convenience stores, hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, law enforcement, EMTs, fire stations, hospitals and nursing homes. I was taken back to realize how many have to work on Christmas as I estimate we’ve passed out over 10,000 candles over the last two decades.

Now please, I’m not tooting our horn on how nice we are to take on such an endeavor. Over the course of the years, you make a few here and there and by Christmas we have enough to meet project. But to see the faces of these people when someone walks in wherever they’re working and not want anything, except to give them a little gift. The smiles and words of appreciation have been priceless. Some even tell us they were waiting for us to show up with the candles; kind of a highlight to their working day. But that’s not the best part.

Generally, like many, Christmas is a very busy time, so hectic you nearly forget what it’s all about. And what it’s all about is giving, letting someone know you care for them, even if it’s something as small as a jar candle. For this man, it drives home the message of the gospel. God loved us so much He wanted to give us something special.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.’”

The love of God was so great that He sent His Son to be the atonement, the bridge between us and Him. That’s love.

“When Christ was born, so was our hope.” Max Lucado.

Well, I wanted to get this thought out while Christmas is still fresh in our minds for three reasons. The first, there is so much joy in giving and not expecting anything back. If you haven’t experienced it yet, give it a whirl. The second, by giving it keeps Christmas alive in your heart all the year round. The third, if the God of the universe loved us so much to send His son that we might have something more special than we can even imagine, doesn’t it stand to reason that we could do likewise even in a small way?

The season comes and it goes. We sing the carols, put up the tree and lights, spend time with loved ones and then move on until next year. For this “Traveler of the Rock Road,” just the little we do lights up my Christmas like it’s never been before.

So even if it’s the day after let me say Merry Christmas good friends and family.

And a most Blessed New Year.

See ya next time.