Short Stories

A Special Christmas Story

Please read the whole thing, and don't stop until it's over. You can kinda skip over the long part in caps, though, if you like.

- - -

"Is it time? Is it time?!" Nina asked excitedly, jumping up and down and up and down. "Can we go now?!"

"Not yet Ninaaa," replied her older sister, Lisa, with a laugh. "Mom and Dad still need to get the boxes, and that's the most important part!"

"Awwww but I wanna see Chloeeeee!"

"And I wanna see Mia, but we'll see them when Mom and Dad put the shoeboxes in the car."

Nina could barely contain herself. How could her meanie big teenager sister be so calm? Operation Christmas Child was the best part of the whole winter! Christmas presents were better, but they were giving Christmas presents to other little girls that never got a present before, and that made Nina super duper happy pappy inside.

Operation Christmas Child was a project of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization lead by Franklin Graham. The job of Operation Christmas Child was to show God's love in a special way to poor kids around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993 Operation Christmas Child had collected and delivered more than 168 million shoeboxes to kids in over 160 countries and territories. For a lot of the kids, the gift‑filled shoebox was the first gift they had ever gotten. At least, that was what Nina had learned at the church service that morning. Right now, they were going to the thingy where they donated their boxes they'd put together.

"Okay, everybody in the car!" Nina's Daddy called from down the hall, and she could hear his feet getting closer, with her Mommy's feet right behind them.

Quick as they could, Nina and Lisa pulled on their coats and shoes, and headed for the door with their parents right behind them.

The smile stayed stuck to Nina's face all the way to the car, and for the entire drive to the church.

- - -

The prayer over the shoeboxes that the pastor now read aloud to all the people who'd shown up was written on the little pamphlets that had been handed out when Nina and her family entered the church building. This is what it said.

"GOD IN HEAVEN HEAR THIS PRAYER FROM THE HEARTS OF ALL OF US WHO SUPPORT THIS ENDEAVOR.

WE ASK THAT EACH ITEM CONTAINED IN ALL THESE BOXES BE BLESSED IN
MIRACULOUS WAYS BY YOUR GENEROUS SPIRIT. HAVE MERCY ON EACH AND
EVERY RECEIVER OF THESE SHOE BOXES. MAY THEY BE DRAWN TO KNOW YOU
BY YOUR PRECIOUS HOLY SPIRIT. YOU ALONE CAN TOUCH THE LITTLE ONES WHO
GET THEM IN WAYS WE CANNOT FATHOM.

MAY EACH BOX REACH OUT TO OTHERS WHO HAVE NOT HEARD YOUR GOOD NEWS. MULTIPLY THE ONES WHO COME TO KNOW OF YOUR SAVING GRACE BY THE THOUSANDS.  YOU ARE GOD ALMIGHTY, THERE IS NOTHING YOU CANNOT ACCOMPLISH.

HAVE YOUR HAND UPON EACH AND EVERY WORKER, DRIVER, PACKER, PILOT, MACHINIST, LEADER. ANY ONE WHO IN ANY WAY HAS DONE OR IS DOING WORK IN THIS PROJECT...BLESS THEM, GIVE THEM MERCY AND STRENGTH TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU HAVE SET THEM OUT TO DO.

GUIDE THE MOUTHS WHO YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO SPEAK BEFORE THE RECIPIENTS WITH YOUR HOLY BOLDNESS.

JUST HAVE EVERYTHING WORK TO BRING GLORY TO YOU, MOST HOLY FATHER

IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN"
(Prayer source: http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2011/11/special-prayer-for-operation-christmas.html )

Nina didn't really care about the prayer much, being seven-years-old, but the bits she heard made her beam. This was something that made her feel all tingly and special inside. It felt super good to give poor kids things they needed when no one else could.

"Alright! Let's begin!" the pastor announced from his place on the church's stage before stepping down to let the hundreds of people stack up their shoeboxes. Nina and Lisa were sent to place their two shoeboxes among the others. The smile still hadn't left Nina's face.

An hour or two later, everybody was slowly drifting out of the building after mingling together and discussing their Christmas plans while the kids devoured all the snacks and played tackle war.

Until something caught Nina's eye, and she froze stock-still.

It was slightly behind and above the large pile of shoeboxes. A projection on the wall that had been playing over and over. And, up until this point, Nina hadn't cared, too excited to play with her best friend Chloe. But now she couldn't take her eyes off it.

It was a video of some of the kids receiving the shoebox gifts. These kids hands looked rough, and their clothes were plain and worn. Some of them didn't have shoes. And yet as the Christians delivering the shoeboxes read them the pamphlet in their own language about how God sent his only son to die for their sins, and they taught those kids some pretty hymns... the smiles barely ever left their faces.

Nina watched it a few more times, entranced, until Lisa grabbed her arm and told her it was time to go.

But Nina didn't fight or whine like she usually would as Lisa pulled her toward their parents. She was too busy thinking about those poor kids, who's eyes sparkled now when they heard Jesus' name.

Because now, it made her eyes sparkle extra special too.