One For The Road.

One For the Road.

We are almost at that time before Christmas where people become involved in a fair number of parties. Parties with family, the works night out party and all sorts of other get-togethers. Mostly all good fun and a time of sharing with others.

As a minister, I had my share of such events to attend. it was a strange time of the year in so many ways. Always very busy and there are some of those events I could well have done without. 

I remember attending a prison officers Christmas night. Before I had got a seat for myself and my wife four people had offered to purchase alcohol for us.  I could see it was going to be one of those nights. I got settled and headed for the bar. There I purchased a pint of a well known black ale. For the rest of the evening, I nursed it having the occasional sip. When an officer came and offered to buy me a pint I pointed at it and said thank you but I have one. 

Two days later as I entered the prison and handed in my little plastic disc that was exchanged for a set of keys the officer in charge of accounting for every set of Keys said to me, "My you had a grand night at the party. Every time I saw you, you had a pint in front of you."  I smiled and wondered how many people had been told the tale and had they said that I must have staggered home?

The lesson I learned that night was not to try and be shifty but to just come clean and say I had decided not to have any at all but to let them see I could still have a great night.

Another tale I remember that had something that was not all it seemed to be at its heart. 

It was the story of the father who had fallen on hard times and it was just prior to Christmas. Being deeply concerned about how they were going to get through Christmas he was annoyed to learn that his daughter had taken the last sheet of gold wrapping paper, the very sheet he had hoped to wrap her little present in. It was not much, all he could afford but it could be made to look better with the paper.

As he went into the living room he noticed a parcel beside the tree with the paper around it.  He in an angry tone said to his daughter that she should not have taken and used all that on one parcel.

Next morning before he was out of bed his daughter entered his room and presented him with the present. he opened it to discover it was an empty shoe box. Again he got angry saying it was a terrible waste to use such good paper on an empty box.

His daughter was hurt but explained that it was not an empty box she had filled it to the very brim with loving kisses. 

The father was crushed. He reached out and put his arms around her and thanked her and apologised for his anger. 

Before the following Christmas, the little girl was killed by a drunk driver. The father still had the shoe box still wrapped in gold paper. He brought it out of the cupboard and sat it by his bedside. Any time he felt low or down he opened it put his hand in and took out one of the imaginary kisses. The very act never failed to make him feel better as he remembered the love she had freely given him in spite of everything.

We should never take things at face value or in a rush. Things are not always as they seem to be. But hold on tight to those acts of love and kindness given at this time of year because it is those things that will still be with you when other things have gone.

Have a wonderful day. I hope you are all still looking forward to the day when it comes.