For the last decade plus, our team-family has suited up in Christmas gear, grabbed our cowbells, and “headed to The Kroger to ring” for the Salvation Army. To say we are comical is an understatement…
For hours, we ring our cowbells [we brought kiddie-cowbells this year to relieve our “ringing” headache – get it?!], greet everyone with a cheery “Merry Christmas!!”, and giggle at the tall-tales shared.
As we are full of the holiday spirit, and a little too much coffee… an angry glance thrown our way catches me off-guard. I smile, say “Merry Christmas”, and hope the guy’s day gets better.
As I turn to see if anyone else saw the guy, a lady is pushing her buggy out, with hands full of stuff, and loses control. I quickly stop the runaway cart, giggle, and turn back to see what in the world she was doing that caused her to lose control.
She was digging out change for the kettle…
We all rolled with laughter, thanked her tremendously, and helped get her squared away with the runaway buggy.
As the laughter died down, the angry gentlemen from earlier walked by, and I smiled. As he passed, he gruffly stated “I don’t believe in all of that…”
The bells stopped ringing, and the laughter ceased…
And before I knew it…off I went!!
“Sir!! Sir!! What do you mean that you ‘don’t believe in all of that…’??”
He stopped, turned to face me, and it was then that I realized how much he towered over me… He was over six feet tall, broad shoulders, strong arms, and a stern face.
Curiosity had already taken over, so I stood firmly – a foot below him.
“Why?? Because when I was a little boy, I asked for a bike. That’s all I had ever asked for. Every Christmas, I watched as other kids got their bikes, but me?? I never got one…”
That’s when I saw it… This strong man, that had to be in his late forties, opened his heart, and showed me the hurt child that still lives inside of him…
Ohhhhhh…how I wish I could write the rest of the encounter, but written words would never do it justice. But I can tell you, as our exchange came to a close, he reached in his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and gave me every dollar he had inside.
Chills rushed over me…
As I turned to walk back to the crew, I saw them all laughing, and running back and forth between the kettle and a car. It was the runaway buggy lady.
As she gave us car storage compartments full of change, she said that no one had made her giggle that much in forever, and she wanted more!! So she decided to search her car for change, and emptied out every compartment it had.
Merry Christmas, Everyone ❤️
You can't buy time, BUT... 
I think of the sad little boy inside of many of us this Christmas. My hope is for them all to have an encounter that softens and heals. Because turning back time and saving him from his memories is just not possible. Merry Christmas!! I wish I could have been part of this day.
Oh, so true… Kindness can certainly soften the scars. Merry Christmas!!