About a week before Christmas the family bought a new nativity
scene. When
they unpacked it they found 2 figures of the Baby Jesus.
"Someone must have
packed this wrong," the mother said, counting out the figures.
"We have one
Joseph, one Mary, three wise men, three shepherds, two lambs, a
donkey, a
cow, an angel and two babies. Oh, dear! I suppose some set down
at the store
is missing a Baby Jesus because we have 2."
"You two run back down to the store and tell the manager
that we have an
extra Jesus. Tell him to put a sign on the remaining boxes
saying that if a
set is missing a Baby Jesus, call 7126. Put on your warm coats,
it's
freezing cold out there."
The manager of the store copied down mother's message and
the next time
they were in the store they saw the cardboard sign that read,
"If you're
missing Baby Jesus, call 7126."
All week long they waited for someone to call. Surely, they
thought,
someone was missing that important figurine. Each time the
phone rang mother
would say, "I'll bet that's about Jesus," but it never was.
Father tried to
explain there are thousands of
these sets scattered over the country and the figurine could be
missing from
a set in Florida or Texas or California. Those packing mistakes
happen all
the time. He suggested just put the extra Jesus back in the box
and forget
about it. "Put Baby Jesus back in the box! What a terrible thing
to do!" said
the children." "Surely someone will call," mother said. "We'll
just keep
the two of them together in the manger until someone calls."
When no call had come by 5:00 on Christmas Eve, mother
insisted that
father "just run down to the store" to see if there were any
sets left. "You
can see them right through the window, over on the counter," she
said. "If
they are all gone, I'll know someone is bound to call tonight."
"Run down to the store?" father thundered. "It's 15 below
zero out
there!" "Oh, Daddy, we'll go with you," Tommy and Mary began to
put on their
coats. Father gave a long sigh and headed for the front closet.
"I can't
believe I'm doing this," he muttered.
Tommy and Mary ran ahead as father reluctantly walked out in
the cold.
Mary got to the store first and pressed her nose up to the store
window.
"They're all gone, Daddy," she shouted. "Every set must be
sold." "Hooray,
Tommy said "The mystery will now be solved tonight!" Father
heard the news
still a half block away and immediately turned on his heel and
headed back
home.
When they got back into the house they saw that mother was
gone and so
was the extra Baby Jesus figurine. "Someone must have called
and she went
out to deliver the figurine," my father reasoned, pulling off
his boots. "You
kids get ready for bed while I wrap mother's present."
Then the phone rang. Father yelled "answer the phone and
tell' em we
found a home for Jesus." But it was mother calling with
instructions for us
to come to 205
Chestnut Street immediately, and bring three blankets, a box of
cookies and
some milk.
"Now what has she gotten us into?" my father groaned as we
bundled up
again.
"205 Chestnut. Why that's across town. Wrap that milk up good
in the
blankets or it will turn to ice before we get there. Why can't
we all just
get on with Christmas? It's probably 20 below out there now.
And the wind
is picking up. Of all the crazy
things to do on a night like this."
When they got to the house at 205 Chestnut Street it was the
darkest one
on the block. Only one tiny light burned in the living room
and, the moment
we set foot on the porch steps, my mother opened the door and
shouted,
"They're here, Oh thank God you got here, Ray! You kids take
those blankets
into the living room and wrap up the little ones on the couch.
I'll take the
milk and cookies."
"Would you mind telling me what is going on, Ethel?" my
father asked. "We
have just walked through below zero weather with the wind in our
faces all
the way."
"Never mind all that now," my mother interrupted. "There is no
heat in this
house and this young mother is so upset she doesn't know what to
do. Her
husband walked out on her and those poor little children will
have a very
bleak Christmas, so don't you complain. I told her you could
fix that oil
furnace in a jiffy." My mother strode off to the kitchen to
warm the milk
while my brother and I wrapped up the five little
children who were huddled together on the couch. The children's
mother
explained to my father that her husband had run off, taking
bedding,
clothing, and almost every piece of furniture, but she had been
doing all
right until the furnace broke down.
"I been doin' washin' and ironin' for people and cleanin'
the five and
dime," she said. "I saw your number every day there, on those
boxes on the
counter. When the furnace went out, that number kept going'
through my mind.
7162 7162. Said on the box that if a person was missin'
Jesus, they should
call you. That's how I knew you were good Christian people,
willin' to help
folks. I figured that maybe you would
help me, too. So I stopped at the grocery store tonight and I
called your
missus. I'm not missin' Jesus, mister, because I sure love the
Lord. But I
am missin' heat and I have no money to fix that furnace."
"Okay, Okay," said father. "You've come to the right place.
Now let's
see. You've got a little oil burner over there in the dining
room. Shouldn't
be too hard to fix. Probably just a clogged flue. I'll look it
over, see
what it needs."
Mother came into the living room carrying a plate of cookies
and warm
milk. As she set the cups down on the table, I noticed the
figure of Baby
Jesus lying in the center of the table. It was the only sign of
Christmas in
the house. The children stared wide-eyed with wonder at the
plate of cookies
my mother set before them
Father finally got the oil burner working but said, "You
need more oil.
I'll make a few calls tonight and get some oil. Yes, sir, you
came to the
right place," father grinned.
On the way home father did not complain about the cold
weather and had
barely set foot inside the door when he was on the phone. "Ed,
hey, how are
ya, Ed?" Yes,
Merry Christmas to you, too. Say Ed, we have kind of an unusual
situation
here. I know you've got that pickup truck. Do you still have
some oil in
that barrel on your truck? You do?" By this time the rest of
the family
were pulling clothes out of their closets and toys off of their
shelves. It
was long after their bedtime when they were wrapping gifts. The
pickup came.
On it were chairs, three lamps, blankets and gifts. Even
though it was 30
below, father let the children ride along in the back of the
truck.
No one ever did call about the missing figure in the
nativity set, but as
I grow older I realize that it wasn't a packing mistake at all.
Jesus saves,
that's what He does.