God sometimes shows up in the strangest ways. One Christmas week in
1980, He did just that. It was a Christmas my family never forgot.
For a number of years, Dad struggled with God's call to be a
full-time evangelist. After resigning his church in Orangeburg, South
Carolina, in 1980, he decided it was time. The only problem was it
wasn't God's time.
Resigning a church when you live in a church
provided home and have nowhere to go is a scary experience. Fortunately,
the church organist had a little getaway mobile home on the shores of
South Carolina's Santee River.
Mom, Dad, and my two brothers
loaded up their clothes, stored the remainder of their belongings at my
grandparent's home, and headed for what they had never experienced
before: residing in a trailer, using someone else's belongings, and
living on the water. Their new home was small, cramped, and showed
evidence of a bachelor's presence, but Mom made it as much of a
temporary home as she could.
Mom was employed in
Orangeburg-thirty miles away. Her income wasn't sufficient to pay bills.
Debt was mounting. Calls for Dad to preach were few and far between.
When they came, they struggled to muster the gas money for him to get
there. Compensation was never enough to cover his expenses. Now, the
weather had turned cold, and keeping the oil tank filled was further
draining their bank account.
All the while, the season of joy was
quickly approaching, but there didn't appear to be much joy this
Christmas. How could they be happy when there was no money to buy a tree
or presents? Mom loved to cook large Christmas meals, but the cabinets
screamed empty. Meat, too, was rapidly becoming a scarce commodity.
A dose of ingenuous planning by Mom and a surprise visit from a
friend turned the tide. Low County South Carolina is heavily dotted with
pine trees. Why not use one as a Christmas tree? So they did. Dad and
the two boys trekked through the woods until they found the perfect one.
Mom even came up with a solution for the ornaments. Finding craft
ornaments that required baking and painting, she accosted them and
delivered them to Dad.
But it appeared this Christmas would still
be meatless. During Christmas week, however, Richard-their good friend
and owner of the trailer, stopped by. He worked at a local car
dealership and had been given a ham and turkey as Christmas gifts. He
had no use for both and wondered whether Mom, Dad, and the boys might be
interested in the ham. God sent meat for Christmas. The aroma of the
cooking ham snaked through every inch of the trailer, reminding them of
God's goodness. They didn't have much, but God gave exactly what they
needed.
Mary experienced the same. She too was a poor young woman
engaged to be married when God showed up and told her fiance she would
birth the Savior of the world. "And she will have a son, and you are to
name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew
1:21 NLT) The excitement-and anxiety, was almost more than Mary could
bear. But her willingness to accept God's plan resulted in salvation for
all who call upon the name of the Son she bore.
My family needed
meat for Christmas. God sent it. Soon after, He provided another church
for my father to pastor. Once again, they had a place to stay and food
on the table. God also provided a Savior for the world. And that's how
God is. Whatever the need, He'll always supply.
