Ole Pappy

A long time ago and far, far away, I was a little boy waiting for Christmas to come. Presents were under the tree, just waiting to be opened. But I didn’t see the one I really wanted.

I’d made it known I wanted a cowboy hat, but no present under the tree could possibly be what I wanted.

So I went in search of it. “Maybe Mom and Dad didn’t put it out yet because they didn’t want me to know I was getting it,” I thought.

So the search began ... under mom and dad’s bed ... in the spare room where mom wrapped the presents ... even in the kitchen I searched — but found nothing.

Then inspiration hit me. I went directly to dad’s closet in his room and began going though everything. Finally — there it was. The box was just right for my cowboy hat. So I opened the box and took a good look.

There it was — my cowboy hat!

But suddenly I was hit with a feeling I did not expect. I’d just ruined the surprise. I knew I’d blown the magic of the moment when I’d opened the present and found the cowboy hat.

Then, my worst nightmare occurred. Dad walked into the room.

He looked down at me, put his hands on his hips and said, “Are you happy now? You just ruined the surprise.” That was the last straw. Tears began to form in my eyes — then I let it go and streams of water poured down.

I looked up at dad and suddenly I understood it all. Giving wasn’t about me getting what I wanted. It was about that wonderful moment when everyone shared a special time together. Mom and Dad would look at me and smile, happy with the fact I loved my present.

And I’d destroyed all that because I was greedy and wanted it my way. Furthermore, I just wasn’t going to get any sympathy from Dad — or even Mom.

I couldn’t believe how very terrible I felt. I too, had destroyed my best moment. But Mom and Dad were gracious.

The wrapped the cowboy hat in a different box and gave me a couple of other nice presents. Over the years, I received a couple of other presents that not only returned the Christmas Present feeling ... but provided me with WORLDS of ENTERTAINMENT.

One was my FORT APACHE. Basically it was a set of metal walls that fit together. But with plastic cowboys and Indians to do battle against each other, it became playground I couldn’t resist.

Fort Apache is my home when I needed to get away from home and it stayed with me for years. Then, as I grew, football began to take a hold in my life and I received another great present — my very own “Football Game.”

It had a light in the middle under the field and when you played against an opponent, you chose your offense and placed it on the field and your opponent placed his defensive card over it.

If he guessed right about what offense I’d chosen, he could stop my runner.

If not, I’d run crazy. Again, I played with this for years, until the plays were tattered and torn and the field began to fall apart. But I never forgot the “Football Game,” and even think about it today.

Yes, Christmas is special when the giving is done with love and at the proper time.

And receiving is fun when you have the patience to wait. Through it all, we always took time to worship The Lord first. Presents came later. It was a wonderful tradition I will never forget.

I hope my parents, now in Heaven, know how much I loved the tradition ... particularly since it was sprinkled with worshipping God.

LAUGH A LITTLE: She made it! The burial service for the elderly woman climaxed with a massive clap of thunder, followed by a bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder.

“Well,” said her husband to the shaken pastor when all the commotion ending, “she’s there.”

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: As my Ole Pappy used to say, “A true friend will never judge you. They will stand by you no matter what.”

He always told me he may not agree with me, but they respect your right to make your own mistakes, have your own opinions and walk the path you choose.”

Thanks Ole Pappy!