Thursday, December 22, 2005
THE ENVELOPE
THE ENVELOPE
By David Langerfeld
Dec 20, 2005
It''s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our
Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has
peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas---oh, not the true
meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it-overspending...
the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle
Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma ---the gifts given in
desperation because you couldn''t think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual
shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special
just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level
at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a
non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.
These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed
to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast
to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new
wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the
other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet
designed to protect a wrestler''s ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team
obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took
every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he
swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street
pride that couldn''t acknowledge defeat.
Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them
could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing
like this could take the heart right out of them."
Mike loved kids-all kids-and he knew them, having coached little league
football, baseball and lacrosse. That''s when the idea for his present
came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought
an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously
to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on
the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this
was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas
that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the
tradition---one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters
to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers
whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on
and on.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the
last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their
new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted
the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but
the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn''t end there.
You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas
rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the
tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree,
and in the morning, it was joined by three more.
Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope
on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will
expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree
with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the
envelope. Mike''s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be
with us.
PRAYER
"Lord Jesus, help me to earnestly seek you with humility and
confidence. Increase my faith in your promises, strengthen within me
the hope of heaven and eternal life, and set my heart on fire with
love for you and your kingdom. May I always praise and magnify your
greatness and mercy."
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