As a child, growing up at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, I had to travel back and forth via Trailways Bus to be with my family. One Christmas, I was making connections with a bus at the Winston Salem station and a miraculous event took place that I will remember forever.
What I wanted the most for Christmas was a transistor radio. As I waited for the bus to come, someone approached me with such a gift. The person said to me “Merry Christmas!” My heart was filled with joy and happiness! Was it an angel?
As I recall, a news paper reporter was taking pictures at the bus station with an old school camera. He took a picture of me as I shook hands with the gentleman. The brightness of my smile was brighter than any camera flash.
The gift of this transistor radio was the beginning with my engagement with the world of sound. Yes, technology has come a long way since I was a child at the School for the Blind. But I still live and learn through the world of sound as I listen to podcasts, make use of synthesized speech, and utilize in-person readers.
Did someone from the Governor Morehead School arrange for me to receive this gift-perhaps? Was the man who presented this gift to me a divine incarnation? Who can really say? What I do know is that my Christmas wish came true.
The gift of holiday joy that I received through the gift of that radio can continue to be given.
We can only imagine the joy that Mary and Joseph felt as the Wise Men brought precious gifts to baby Jesus. Besides giving gifts of love to family and friends, maybe we can think outside the box this Christmas season, as well as in the coming year, of ways to give treasures of hope and joy to others. Perhaps it could be through acts of service or visiting someone who is sick. It may even be giving a coat or a toy to a child in need. Who knows, you might even be a Christmas angel.