She came in off the street into the Christmas store in Galloway, TN .She was a grandma, but looked much too young to be a grandma." I'm looking for something for my grandkids," she said. She had done various things throughout the year - come to Bible study, do clean up projects, help the mission center - to save "points" which she could now redeem for Christmas presents. Mrs. Karen came right up to her with a big hug and kiss on the cheek. "I love you," she says to the woman. The woman knows this. She knows no matter what that she is loved here. "Merry Christmas," she replies.
I end up being her shopping buddy, helping her pick out things and keeping track of the points she is spending. She's quiet and shy and doesn't reply much to my attempts at conversation. After perusing the tables for a bit, she suddenly looks up at me and asks, "You don't happen to have anything Jake and the Neverland Pirates do you? My grandson loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates." I start to look around. Surely God would have a Jake and the Neverland Pirate's item here among the many donations that have come in. Surely. Not seeing what I was looking for, I call Rylie and send her to the back store room. "Go see if we have something Jake and the Neverland Pirates back there," I say to her, desperately hoping there will be. Not really sure why it's such a big deal to me that there is a particular toy back there, but it is.
I don't really trust Rylie's looking skills, she can't find her shoes on her feet sometimes. But I wait with the young grandma. And hope. Suddenly Rylie bursts through the door with a box in her hand. "Look what I found, Mama!" she says.
And there it is - a Jake and the Neverland Pirate's play set, complete with a treasure box and a spyglass!
I breathe a sigh of relief and wonder why I doubt my Heavenly Father.
I turn and hand it to the woman. "Will this work?" I ask. She reaches her hand out, looks at it, and tears start rolling down her cheeks. She's crying. Over Jake and the Neverland Pirates. That's a first for me.
This woman who has hardly spoken two quiet words to me looks up at me through her tears and says, "I never dreamed I would be able to afford something this nice for my grandson that he would love so much."
"This nice???" I think to myself. "This is not a PlayStation, an Ipad, or even a bike!" It's a $15 play set! But it's the right play set. It's exactly what she was looking for. It's Christmas for her grandson. and may very well be the only present he is getting.
I can't stop it. Tears start rolling down my cheeks also. I've never cried over Jake and the Neverland Pirate's before, but I am now.
Two women, two different colors of skin, two very different lives, crying together because Christmas just happened - for both of us.
And then I remember, the same God who gave the most perfect gift on that first Christmas is still giving perfect gifts today.
That person in some church somewhere who bought that Jake and the Neverland Pirate's set to send to Galloway didn't know that it was for a certain person, but God knew. He had it all planned it out, and He looked at me and said, "Watch this." "Watch Me care for the least of these." And then He gently reminded me, "Now go and care for them too."
As the woman prepared to leave, Mrs. Karen came up to her again with another hug, and said, "Tell your grandson it's from His Heavenly Father." "I will." The woman quietly replied.
I watched her walk out, tears still in my eyes. Suddenly I couldn't wait! I couldn't wait for the next person to come in, to see what God had for them. To see what God had for me.
The Bible says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...." James 1:17
Even Christmas gifts.
My friend, don't ever think that your donation to God's work, no matter how small, is not important. God's plans are so much bigger than ours, and even the smallest things given in the name of Jesus mean so much to someone else.
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