The Shoe Box Read online

  2 large (or 3 small) onions

  7 stalks of celery

  1 large green bell pepper

  2 (or 3) 6-oz. packages of croutons

  turkey giblets

  enough turkey broth to dampen stuffing

  Grind everything and mix together. Wash inside and outside of turkey carefully. Oil inside and outside of turkey; salt inside and outside of turkey (liberally). Stuff the bird with yummy dressing.

  * * *

  The church where Mary and David Holmes took Timmy had a Christmas program each year. The choir practiced for two months to present the community with a cantata. Everyone dressed in costumes. This year part of the program was to include acting out the Nativity while the choir sang.

  “We need lots of children to volunteer for the parts,” Chuck, the program director, said. “The choir will sing about the angels who came to speak to the shepherds in the fields. And there’s a song about the wise men who came from faraway lands to see Jesus. And, of course, we need a girl to play Mary and a boy to play Joseph.”

  “What about Jesus?” Timmy said.

  “Latasha has a baby brother,” one of the girls said. “Why don’t you let her be Mary, and her baby brother can be Jesus?”

  “That’s a great idea,” Chuck said.

  Most of the children were eager to be part of the play. Even Timmy, but he was too shy to raise his hand. Chuck noticed the look on his face when all the parts were filled. He asked his helper to get the children started in a game and took Timmy aside. “We could use another shepherd in the play,” he said carefully. “Would you like to be a shepherd?”

  “I’d like to be a wise man.”

  There were already three wise men, but Chuck thought about it and nodded. “You know, the Bible doesn’t say how many wise men came to see Jesus. There might have been four. There might have been more than that. I’ll talk to the lady making costumes and ask her if she can make one more for you.”

  The lady was very pleased to make a costume for Timmy. She spent extra time on it because she wanted it to be very special. She made a long blue tunic that went to his ankles. She made a wide multicolored sash and an outer garment like an open robe of a beautiful brocade with purple and gold. Then she made a turban and put a big rhinestone brooch on the front and some colored plumes in the top.

  * * *

  CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

  Jesus is the Light of the World! New traditions have developed since our children became adults, married, and blessed us with grandchildren. One new tradition is going on a “city tour” to see Christmas lights. With the local newspaper’s list of the best displays in hand, we pile in our daughter’s van, put on a CD or tune in to Christmas music, drive through Starbucks for coffee and cocoa, and head off on a treasure hunt to find and enjoy the light shows. It’s a fun way to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

  * * *

  GRANDMA JOHNSON’S

  SWEDISH MEATBALLS

  6 zwieback

  2 eggs

  8 oz. sour cream

  2 or 3 onions, chopped

  butter

  3 lbs. ground round

  3 lbs. ground lean pork (boneless pork chops)

  1 tbsp. sugar

  1 tbsp. salt

  1 tbsp. allspice

  ½ tsp. pepper

  ¾ cup mashed potatoes

  Soak zwieback in eggs and sour cream until softened; crush and mix well. Brown onions in a small amount of butter. Mix meats and spices together in large bowl. Add onions, zwieback mixture, and mashed potatoes. Mix well.

  Roll mixture into balls the size of a walnut. Brown in a large skillet. Sprinkle more allspice on meat as it’s cooking. Cover with water and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Do not boil.

  * * *

  When the night came for the program, everyone was so excited that no one noticed that Timmy was still holding his old shoe box instead of the fancy wooden jewelry box he was supposed to carry onto the stage. Everyone did notice when he followed the other three wise men out of the wings and into the lights.

  One by one the wise men approached the manger and left their gifts, but everyone sitting in the audience in the big church social hall was looking at Timmy. Timmy’s mother had come to see him in the cantata. Mrs. Iverson, the social worker, had come as well. So had Mrs. King and two other teachers from Timmy’s school.

  They were all holding their breath when it came Timmy’s turn to put his kingly offering before the manger, where the baby Jesus was sleeping. He looked like a small regal king in his royal garb, the turban and jewel on his head. The lights were on him, and the sparkles in the pretty clothes made him shine. He carried in both hands the old, worn shoe box with the red lid and the words Running Shoes and presented it with solemn respect to the child in the manger.

  Then Timmy straightened and turned and smiled broadly at his mother, Mary and David, Mrs. Iverson, and Mrs. King and her two friends before he took his place among the other wise men at the far side of the stage.

  They all let out their breath in relief, but they also sat wondering and watching Timmy. He was singing with the choir, not the least bit concerned about the precious shoe box he had left on the far side of the stage. In fact, he didn’t look at it once. And they’d never seen him look so happy.

  * * *

  The hymn Timmy and his friends sang in the cantata

  What Child is this, who, laid to rest, on

  Mary’s lap is sleeping?

  Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while

  shepherds watch are keeping?

  This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds

  guard and angels sing;

  Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the babe,

  the son of Mary.

  Why lies He in such mean estate where ox

  and ass are feeding?

  Good Christian, fear, for sinners here the

  silent Word is pleading.

  This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds

  guard and angels sing;

  Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the babe,

  the son of Mary.

  So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,

  come, peasant, king, to own Him;

  The King of kings salvation brings, let loving

  hearts enthrone Him.

  This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds

  guard and angels sing;

  Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the babe,

  the son of Mary.

  —William C. Dix

  * * *

  When the cantata was over, his mother took his hand and went with him for Christmas punch and cookies. Mary and David went with them. So did Mrs. Iverson and Mrs. King and the two teachers who had come with her. They all said how proud they were of him and what a good job he did.

  When it came time to go, Timmy’s mother asked him if he wanted to go and get his shoe box.

  “Oh no,” Timmy said. “I gave it to Jesus.”

  They all were curious about what was inside the shoe box, but when they passed by the stage, they saw it was gone. Timmy noticed, too, but he didn’t seem the least bit upset about it. In fact, he smiled.

  * * *

  My favorite Christmas music is Handel’s Messiah. The music was composed in 1741 in twenty-four days, from August 22 to September 14. That such a beautiful work of music was written in so short a time is nothing short of miraculous! Messiah was first performed for charitable purposes in Dublin, Ireland, on April 13, 1742. Handel himself conducted. Ever since the work was heard, it has been a favorite.

  I have several versions of the original and the Young Messiah, which I also love. I carry two versions in my car and listen to them while on the road. I also have a CD case full of Christmas music that I start playing as soon as Thanksgiving weekend ends. But Handel’s Messiah still tops my list because of the amazing music and the even more amazing story behind it.

  * * *

  Here it is, my Lord,” the angel said, kneeling before the throne of
God. He held the old, worn shoe box with the words Running Shoes printed on it and set it at God’s feet.

  Jesus took it and set it upon his lap. He put his hand over it and looked out at the gathering of thousands of angels and seraphim and saints. Even they were curious about what was inside. Only he and Timmy knew.

  Peter the apostle was there and, bold as always, was the only one who dared ask, “What’s in that box, Lord? What has the child given you?”

  “Just things,” Jesus said, smiling. He had watched Timmy from the time he was conceived. He had counted every hair upon his head and knew all that was in his heart. And he had waited for the day when the child would come to him with what he had to offer.

  Jesus took the top off the shoe box, and all the angels and seraphim and saints leaned forward as he took out one item at a time and laid it tenderly upon his lap.

  And what they saw were just things— very simple, very ordinary things:

  The worn and faded silk edge of his

  baby blanket

  A wedding picture of his mother

  and father

  His mother’s letters with a rubber

  band around them

  Ten dollars

  His father’s note of love and apology

  A math paper with a smiley face and

  a note from his teacher

  A pretty star sticker

  A movie ticket stub

  Used birthday candles with dried

  icing on them

  wrapped in pretty wrapping paper and tied with a

  bright curled ribbon

  The big side of a broken turkey

  wishbone

  A pretty red maple leaf

  An old baseball

  And six chocolate chip cookies

  There were unseen things, too. Hopes, dreams, prayers, and many worries and fears. All of them were in the box Timmy gave to the Lord.

  Jesus put everything back in the shoe box with tender care. He put the red lid back on the box and then rested his hands upon it as he looked at the multitude before him. “Timmy has given the most precious gift of all: the faith of a child.”

  More angels were sent to guard Timmy from that day forth. They never left his side.

  They were with Timmy when Mary and David invited his mother to come and live with them. She had a room right across the hall from Timmy. The angels were with him when Mary and David had a baby of their own. They were with him when his father got out of prison in time for his high school graduation. They surrounded Timmy as he grew up, married, and had children of his own.

  In fact, angels surrounded him and protected him all the days of his life up until the very moment he was ushered into heaven, straight into the waiting arms of the Lord who loved him.

  The Christmas Story

  SELECTED FROM MATTHEW 1–2 AND LUKE 1–2

  NEW LIVING TRANSLATION

  This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

  Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

  Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

  The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has already conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

  Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

  While she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

  As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

  All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

  “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

  She will give birth to a son,

  and they will call him Immanuel,

  which means ‘God is with us.’”

  When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded.

  A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

  Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy! You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

  Mary responded,

  “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

  How my spirit rejoices in God

  my Savior!

  For he took notice of his lowly

  servant girl,

  and from now on all generations will

  call me blessed.

  For the Mighty One is holy,

  and he has done great things for me.”

  Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

  At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

  And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

  That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven— praising God and saying,

  “Glory to God in highest heaven,

  and peace on earth to those with

  whom God is pleased.”

  When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

  They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The sheph
erds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

  About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

  King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

  ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land

  of Judah,

  are not least among the ruling

  of Judah,

  for a ruler will come from you

  who will be the shepherd for my

  people Israel.’ ”

  Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

  After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.