In the mid-1960s, with lots of faith and seven children, the Brown family moved to Illinois from the Kentucky hills. In Kentucky, the parents had assisted in the work of a children’s home. But when new directors came in with a different set of philosophies, the Browns felt it was best to move on. A friend offered a job in Illinois, so they came.
Three of the children were their children by birth, and three were orphans whom they had adopted. The seventh was 16-year-old Veda who, after hearing that they were going, simply told them, “If you all are leaving, then I’m coming with.”
No money for Christmas
Thelma, the mom, knew that the startup salary their dad was getting was not going to be able to cover Christmas presents. She told the children that any presents they received would have to come from the redemption of the coupon books they’d filled with stamps from the local stores. They accepted the news easily enough. Then she told them that she wasn’t planning on baking cookies either.
But cookies for an old drunk
“No cookies! Oh, Ma! We’ve always taken cookies to people.’’ Her oldest son, Lewis, was really disappointed. “But, Ma,’’ he said, “at one of our bus stops on the way to school, there’s this old shack where an old man lives. The kids say he’s mostly drunk. But I bet he’s lonely and would like the cookies.’’
So Thelma relented and baked some cookies. On Christmas Day, the boys and their dad delivered the cookies to the old man. It was a grand surprise. He was so delighted with their gift, he looked for something he could give them in return. All he had was a calendar he’d gotten from the liquor store. But he wanted them to have it as evidence of his deep appreciation for their visit and the cookies.
And kindness year round
“Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the dumb can understand,’’ is one of the quotations from Uncle Ben’s Quotebook. And the Bible says, “If you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly’’ (Romans 12:8 NLT).
Today’s prayer
“Dear God, you made man in your image. Help me to remember that you care how I treat others. Amen.’’
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Star of Wonder
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Mary and the Angel
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Zechariah
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Reading to Babies
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