A Camel Christmas Story

   Back in the old days, when our kids were small, one of our happy Christmas times each year was to make some ornaments. A couple of years we painted and made shrinky-dinks, those plastic pieces that we hung on the tree for years, and I think we still have a few even today.

   I remember one year in particular when we put together and painted wooden ornaments. There was one special one that turned out very well, a camel, with its many colored saddle blanket fringed with glitter. He was quite the handsome animal and for years thereafter, when the camel came out of the wrapping paper in the ornament box, voices would be heard around the room, "that was the one I painted", or "that one is mine". I think all 5 of us claimed the workmanship on that one.

   Fast forward to 2012. In the series that we are in at church, that of giving and receiving, one of the messages focused on the shepherds and wise men. In the account of the magi from the east, they rode in on camels to see the Christ Child. I suppose that camels were also used to carry all the stuff that they had to have for their long trek. We were encouraged to be camels in our community, carrying the love of Jesus to those around us, particularly those hurting at this time of the year.

   As the needs came in, and then the funds to take care of those, people who took on the responsibility to be the bearers of the gifts came to be designated as camels. It was an apt description, for, just as those beasts of burden did their work in the background of the story, so would those of us in our Body do the same. We would represent the love of Jesus and of our church as we made visits to those that had been identified.

   I got to be a camel today, to be the bearer of this love to a man and his family that were struggling. Both the parents had experienced job losses over the past couple of years, and, although they had been at work for most of this year, it was hard for them to catch up on all the bills that had been postponed or shuffled around in that out-of-work time. They were trying, but their new jobs could not take up the slack because of salary reductions. It looked like, if they could just take care of some past due stuff, they could make it on what they now made. A father, a mother and two kids in need of a little bit of love from their Lord and their church body, and I got to take it to them.

   The father and I had a great time sharing about lives, hopes, dreams and the awesome blessing that a few dollars had brought into that home. It was not the money that made the difference, it was the love of the people who had reached out and given. I suspect that 99% of the people who gave last Sunday, did not even know this man, although he and his family attended regularly. The same thing could be said about almost everyone that received. Some people sitting around each of us on a given Sunday morning, were hurting, and we did not even notice. Sometimes it was because those in need put on a good front, but at other times it was probably because we did not take the time to know them.

   So, today, I know at least two things:

   1. The Camel was blessed, and

   2. I painted that ornament