Sorry it’s been a few days since I have shared with you. I
do appreciate everyone’s support. Your responses have made me feel so good.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about Christmas and how things have changed since I
was little. When I was in kindergarten; our teacher would decorate the room for
Christmas. All the kids got so excited. Mrs. Young, our teacher, put up
Christmas lights, streamers, candy canes, and a live Christmas tree. She would
let us make ornaments to decorate the tree. I still remember how happy it made
us feel.
I must admit that even though, over the last few years there
has been less recognition of Christmas at our school, it didn’t bother me much
until Carter and I returned from Dearth. Dearth was a terrible place where this
supernatural person called the Adversary had a powerful hold on the lives of
the people. There was so much sadness and suffering in that world because of greed
and cruelty that Carter and I almost gave up believing there was any hope for
Dearth. But every so often we would hear about or witness little glimmers of
hope and love.
In the southern kingdom of Dearth, there was a man called
Goodman who had a wooden leg. His leg was caught in the wheel of a runaway
horse and wagon headed for a little homeless girl playing in the street. After
his injury, Goodman had so much trouble finding work that, as a last resort, he
agreed to work for a cruel rich man who hired him just so he could humiliate him
and break his spirit. The rich man couldn’t understand why anyone would risk
his life for an orphan. Goodman worked for half the wages the other servants
made. He slept in the barn because he was not allowed to sleep in the servant’s
quarters. He was fed scraps and leftovers. He was given the most degrading jobs
his master could think of. No matter what he did, the rich man could not break
Goodman’s spirit.
On his day off, Goodman would go to the village and spend his
day with the orphans. He used his meager wages to buy them bread, cheese, and
candy. He helped some of the older children get jobs and taught them to take care
of the young ones. The children loved him, and his fellow servants respected
him so much that they defied their master and snuck food and blankets to him.
The rich man became jealous of Goodman’s popularity, and his
hatred for the man grew. Then one day, the king of that land heard about
Goodman. The rich man and Goodman were brought before the king. When the king understood
the full extent of the rich man’s cruelty and the purity of Goodman’s heart, he
took the rich man’s land and gave it to Goodman. He made the rich man, Goodman’s
servant. The king also made Goodman the people’s champion to be an example of
how to live and make their land prosper.
There is so much more to this story I would like to share,
but it will have to wait for another post. The reason why I told you about
Goodman is because when I heard his story while traveling in Dearth, it made me
feel the same way I felt when I was a little girl in kindergarten at Christmas
time, surrounded by all the bright colors and lights. Goodman’s kindness was
like a beautiful light of joy breaking through the darkness of Dearth. I see Christmas
decorations as symbols of the light of love and kindness demonstrated by
Goodman and all people of goodwill. And if that’s true, could the restricting of
expressions of Christmas celebration, mean that love and kindness are fading
from our world?
It’s late, and I probably have said too much. It’s just what
has been on my mind. Good night everyone.
Kat, perhaps you are looking at this wrong. The story you told about Goodman should serve as an example to us that no matter how dark our world may become, we can always let our own light shine the way Goodman did. Regardless of some people’s attitudes about Christmas decorations or saying “under God” in the pledge of allegiance to the flag or prayer in the schools or having In God we trust on our money, we can still be good people following Goodman’s example and especially the example of Christ.
ReplyDelete