The Christmas Angel

                                             CHRISTMAS ANGEL

         The man in the red suit and fake white beard sitting in the big chair in the middle of the mall was Doug Winslow. He was supposed to be jolly and he was trying but under the beard and costume was a spirit that was well nigh broken.  Downsizing had cost him  his job,  along with something of himself. He identified himself as a provider.  This Santa gig was going to help a lot but it ended on Wednesday the 24th and then what?  Savings would soon be gone, and 2009 looked like a bad year coming.

         The church had promised them a turkey and a basket of goodies but it was killing him to be on the receiving end after years of giving.  Charity!  How can a word that means love make a man feel so demeaned?

         He had prepared his children, Sarah and Mark, for a lean Christmas, playing Santa all day in the mall and wondering how he could possibly play Santa to his own children.  All day long he listened to the wants and wishes of other people’s children.  Some of them, the real little ones anyway, believed in him.

         Sitting there day after day he had become almost bitter about some things.  This was supposed to be the Savior’s birthday celebration , but it had turned into this money grubbing thing with no soul in it.  Everybody was looking to make a buck.  Even Doug, as Santa, was just  a merchandising tool. 

         The pastor said all things work together for good to them that love God.  Doug learned that verse as a child. Now he was putting it to the test but couldn’t see how this situation could work for good in his life.  The pastor reminded him that God had promised to provide for His own and Doug knew that, too, but he had always worked for what he got. Now he was being humbled, receiving charity, and wearing a red suit and a fake beard in public.  A college degree and all his qualifications didn’t save him from this defeat, this humiliation, this blow to his self image as a man. 

         Toward the end of the day on the 24th there were just a few children waiting.  One little boy about his own son’s age was next in line.  The child had the unmistakable features of Down  Syndrome.  He looked up at Doug through thick glasses with solemn brown eyes and said, “Tanny cos.”

         Doug was thinking of his healthy son at home.  The boy who said his name was Danny asked for a train, and then he fixed his serious brown eyes on Doug and said “Deedus loves you, Tanny Cos.”

         The boy’s father smiled and said, :”He means Jesus.”

         Doug felt that a crushing weight was being lifted away, and a warm sense of faith returning touched him.  Of course! How could he have forgotten that?  Jesus loves me.  This will come out right and it will work together with the other factors of my life for my good, for my family’s good.  He thanked the child.  “I needed to hear that.”

         As the boy’s father lifted him to carry him away, Doug thought, Christmas Angels come in all sizes and shapes.
         

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