Christmas 1993 Flashback

Today I relived a sweet memory from nearly 30 years ago. I was then Senior Pastor of a church in Suffolk, Virginia, where I was involved in planting and spending almost 26 years there. It was in December, and we were already engaged in the Christmas season activities such as children’s programs, Christmas cantatas, and other exciting Christmas activities.

During that time, I mentioned in one of my Sunday messages that when I was a little boy, I very badly wanted a John Deere tractor for my backyard sandpile on the farm.  Sadly, I never received the John Deere.

A couple of Sundays later, I arrived at church on Sunday to find in my pulpit chair a gift-wrapped package. As I opened it, to my surprise, was a little John Deere model tractor, exactly like the one that I had desired when I was a little boy.  There was a note attached to it that I have included below.

December 12, 1993

Dear T. A.

I felt this gift cannot be given without an explanation.

One Christmas morning a very long, long time ago, I had just arrived back home after a very busy night. My wonderful wife knew how tired I would be, so she had a cup of hot cocoa waiting for me. All the years before, I had always come home very jolly, but this morning I was sad.

I told her that 1 had one present left in my sack, the name tag was loose, and in one of my take-offs, it must have fallen off. She asked me if I had left a gift for everyone at each stop. I told her I had, and she said she was sure everyone would be very happy with the gifts they had received, and it would not be missed. Then a few Sundays ago, as we were all working very hard, one of my helpers turned the radio on. As he did, we all came to an abrupt halt and listened very carefully. It was a pastor from Suffolk, Virginia, telling a story about a John Deer Tractor that he had always wanted as a little boy but never got. We all shouted with joy because we still had his tractor after all these years. We had kept it on the shelf, hoping one Christmas we would find out to whom it belonged. As soon as the service was over, I saddled Rudolph (there was no time to get the sleigh), this little boy had waited long enough), and I set off for Suffolk, Virginia. It was a very long ride for one small toy, but it would be worth it to see the look of joy on his face. We hope you enjoy it as much now as you would have so long, long ago. Just remember, someone is always listening.

 We love you - Santa and His Helpers