12/18/2008: "Santa's Bag"

I was at the storage area for the Angel Tree gifts when I noticed Candy Wertzberger taking bags from room to room. To my questioning, Candy replied that the bags were completed requests she was placing to be picked up. Walking into the pick-up room I noticed the large garbage bag leaning against the wall.

The garbage bag contained the Christmas gifts of a little girl. A little girl whose family would probably not otherwise be able to afford to buy gifts for. A little girl who might have otherwise woke on Christmas morning thinking that Santa didn't love her.

The garbage bag contained things that she had likely been begging for for months. If she is at all like my son, every television commercial presents a new item that she can not live without. “Daddy, Daddy, I want that” I can hear her yell in the ears of my mind while my mind's eye watches her jumping up and down pointing at the television. “Tell Santa to get that for me!” “I will tell him”, the father would say, “but, Santa has a lot of little girls and boys to get presents for.”

Exactly what was in the bag, I did not look. But I can imagine. There were toys that she had seen on television commercials. Probably clothes which her parents had requested out of need, and maybe some which the girl had cried for because all of her friends had them. There might have been costume jewelry which in her eyes would make her look pretty and all grown up... make her the admiration of her friends. There might be lip gloss, a hair brush or dolls. Or, maybe there was a board game, video game or movie to share with her friends.

The specific items in the bag are not important. What is important is that bag contains those things which will make the little girl feel special... feel loved... feel that she was not forgotten, especially by Santa.

Community Bible Church came forward in a big way this year to help Santa provide Christmas for this little girl. It was not a few big donors who provided the funding and the gifts. This year it was the congregation sharing the love of Christ. It was all of those individuals who selected Angels off the tree, went shopping and brought back a very special gift. It was those kind hearts who made the many financial contributions, both large and small. Most likely, it was you.

This unnamed little girl and hundreds of other children like her thank you, their Santa. This little girl's two sisters thank you too, as their gifts from Santa are also in that bag.