While I was writing yesterday's post, I was reminded of a story I read recently in a magazine. It is a true story about the author's, John Hilton III, most memorable Christmas.
John had just recently married and he and his wife were spending Christmas with his family. On Christmas morning, as was the tradition, all the children gathered into his parents bedroom while his dad went downstairs to check and see if Santa had come to visit. From the bedroom they could hear their dad say, "Uh-oh! Something bad has happened". When they came downstairs they found no presents, no stockings, and no Christmas tree. Even all the decorations were gone. On the fireplace was a note from the Grinch saying he had stolen their Christmas. The Grinch had left a box of 20 sacks filled with fruit, nuts, some McDonald's coupons, and a few other things. In his note, the Grinch, said that if they would drive to downtown and distribute all the sacks amongst the homeless he might return their Christmas.
So all the kids got in the car and drove to downtown in search of homeless people. John says they were not hard to find, and it was humbling to see how many people were out on the streets obviously not enjoying the warmth and goodness they knew they had waiting for them at home. And made him grateful for the many blessings he had.
When they returned home everything had magically reappeared - the stockings, tree, gifts, and decorations. John writes that that Christmas stood out to him not because of the gifts he received but because of how "The Grinch" helped him give to others.