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We
were doing the Annual Christmas Food Drive and trying to fill up the 50
baskets meant for the different families in our community. As a group of
concerned citizens, Pelham Cares had really grown in the past few years.
I suddenly thought of a particularly needy situation. A girl who had gone
to our church years ago now had a one-year-old and was living in an apartment
nearby. I didn't know her complete history but I knew she had some problems.
Perhaps there was abuse, lack of a job, and alienation from her family.
Maybe she had made some wrong choices in her young life, I don't know. I
made the necessary connections, though it was difficult since she did not
have a phone.
I
came back into the room only to see another load coming in with toys. Among
the presents was a bright red, Honky Tonk truck. It was a beaut, fully loaded
with all the bells and whistles. It was over a foot long and almost a foot
high. The kid came out in me. That would be so nice for that single mom
with the one-year-old. I asked our coordinator and she agreed. I carefully
laid that big, Honky Tonk truck on top of the food that was allocated to
this family. Everybody stood back and admired it.
After
that I didn't see this young woman in quite a while until I ran into her
at a Thanksgiving service at church. Somebody had said that they had seen
her singing one of the hymns. I asked her how it was going and then asked
her about that Honky Tonk truck. Did it still exist? She beamed a smile
that could have lit a Christmas tree. It reminded me of the time when she
was young and in a Christmas pageant. She had tried to light one of the
candles. The match blew out and she had to light another one. Everybody
waited in anticipation. Did she need help? Then she realized the humor in
the situation, her face lit up with a pretty smile, and we all laughed accordingly.
It was that same smile!
She then proceeded to tell me that she was going back to school
now and was living with her parents. She was hoping to go to university
next September. I could tell that her life had changed for the better. She
still had to go down some difficult roads but the hump was over. I was encouraged.
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Perhaps
you may be in the same situation or even worse. At this time of year you
may just vaguely remember that ancient story about this old time religion...
something about some guy coming down to earth as a baby and... loving
us so much that He died to... save us. Yes, that's it! That guy called
Jesus Christ. You may even have used it as a swear word at times.
That same Jesus Christ did come to give us, not a Honky
Tonk truck, but a new life. He can turn us around from the difficult roads
that we take and lead us down that right road. I suggest that you turn
to Him and ask Him to come into your life and fix things up. He will!
You will look better than that Honky Tonk truck with all the bells and
whistles!
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