A Gift of Love
After an agonizing divorce, Darlene moved into a small trailer home with her two young sons. Christmas was fast approaching. As she stared at the floor of her tiny living room, she thought, “We have no extra money. This will definitely be a year without presents for my boys.” She could give them her love. That was all. She knew her sons were too young to understand that love is what Christmas should be all about, and she also knew they were going to have to learn. Little did Darlene know that her sons would learn about love and a whole lot more.
On Christmas Eve, they had a record snowfall. Her boys went outside to shovel their sidewalk and driveway, to keep up with the quickly falling snow. As evening came, they went next door to help their elderly neighbor Jim shovel his driveway. When the boys came inside, Darlene suggested that they all sing Christmas carols and share stories about their best-ever Christmas.
“We had a good time just being together. I was grateful that neither of my sons asked why we didn’t have a tree this year. That night, when I was sure they were sound asleep, I went to bed and just wept. Sometimes I cried tears of sadness. Sometimes I cried tears of joy. Finally, I cried myself to sleep.
On Christmas morning, I got up early and peered outside. Thankfully, the snowstorm had passed. The sky was bright blue, and everywhere you looked there was snow—white, sparkling, new-fallen snow. I thought about my boys. Both loved to be the first to make footprints and snow angels in the fresh snow. Sometimes, they’d lay down head-to-head in the snow and make a double angel.
I don’t know why, but I decided to check our mailbox. No one, not even the mail truck, could have made it through all that snow, but I checked anyway. To my surprise, there was an envelope inside. I opened it and found a note from Jim. Taped to the back was a crisp, clean $100 bill. He’d given me enough money to buy the boys what they wanted—new baseball mitts. And there would even be enough money left over to buy some groceries. Jim’s note read: ‘When you can, reach out to someone else and pass it on.’”
That morning when her sons got up, Darlene told them about Jim’s Christmas gift—one hundred dollars! The boys looked at each other, beaming with surprise and glee. But their delight quickly turned to puzzlement, because they knew that Jim didn’t have very much money either. In fact, the utility company had shut off his power that winter because he couldn’t pay his bill.
The boys quickly pulled on their coats to go next door to thank Jim for his generous gift. But when they opened the trailer door they stopped short. There at the bottom of the steps, they saw a perfectly formed adult-sized snow angel. They were surprised, because there were absolutely no footprints in the snow. Just the angel.
“We never found out who made the snow angel. Jim said there was no way he could or would get down in the snow and flap his arms and legs like that. But we know an angel brought us quite a blessing that Christmas.”
The following spring Jim passed away.
“My sons and I still remember that special Christmas and how Jim gave without asking for anything in return.” As a member of the John Maxwell Team, that’s been my experience—I’m blessed to be surrounded by women and men who give without asking for anything in return.
Holiday blessings to you and yours.
Pass It On!
About the Author
Gloria Burgess is a Featured Writer for the John Maxwell Team Blog.
She is an inspiring, dynamic speaker who brings a wealth of experience to the platform.
A seasoned business executive, her powerful keynotes and seminars connect with audiences because she brings real-world, in-the-seat experience to corporate events, conferences, and meetings. Gloria speaks at events around the world.