LETTER FROM SANTA CLAUS
Caring for one another
Greetings, all. I receive so many letters from you, and even though this is my busy season, I thought I would write to tell you what is happening. I do as many functions around the world as I can, but I have a great group of people who have found me to be a role model for our world and so they help me out. In fact, many people have found that being generous to others truly makes them as jolly as I.
The other day I was making an appearance at St. Timothy's Catholic Church in Blaine. The parish had prepared 213 boxes of food and presents for each one of the families. I am glad that I had all of their help, because that would have been a great deal of preparation for me and a few elves. My heart warms as I see the many churches and organizations that help me by providing for the many needy of our world.
My job for the day was to greet everybody with a hearty "Merry Christmas" and of course a few chuckles and "Ho, Ho, Hos." In addition, I had a table full of stuffed animals; each child who came through the door got to meet me, talk about who they were -- the most important part of my job is listening to others and getting to know them -- and pick out an animal. It is quite an experience to help children smile and learn what kind of great kids they are. What surprised me most, though, were the adults who stopped by to chat with me as well.
The first adult was a bit shy. She asked, "Santa, can I ask you for something this Christmas?" She had a big smile on her face and I thought she was joking. I said, "Sure, everybody has a bit of the child in them at Christmas time." Her face became more serious and she said, "Well, Santa, it has been a hard year this year. You see, my husband died about six months ago and since we lost his income I haven't been able to keep up with my house payments. They are going to take my house away from me at the end of the year, and I was wondering if you could make sure that didn't happen?"
It might have been easier if I just had one such request that day. But many adults stopped in to say that their relative was very sick, or they had lost their job, or they couldn't afford to fix their car and go to work, or their son is addicted to drugs and needs help. My heart immediately went out to each of these souls. I could tell that they appreciated someone who would listen and might care for them for a while, and that they had hope in something greater than themselves to help them out.
Here's my dilemma, people. I have recruited many helpers this season, and I do thank all of them, but I need more help. For every story that I heard that day, I know there are a hundred more. I need more people open to listening and walking with these folks as they go through this painful time. We might not be able to perform a "magic fix" on the dilemmas happening in our world, but we sure can make the dilemmas more bearable and possibly increase our own belief and hope that each of us is a part of that something bigger for another. These stories might help us as we spend our money, vote at the polls, or live our lives. I look forward to having you help me out, this season and beyond. Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!
I had Shawn Phillips send this in for me, thanks.
SHAWN PHILLIPS, CHAMPLIN