• Home
  • Therapist
  • Counseling
  • Services
  • Approach
  • Office Policies
  • Questions
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Make Payment

Living The Hope

a christmas story to share

12/10/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
I had an unusual experience the other day; I went into a fast-food store to have a quick lunch and ended up in a conversation with a store manager.  We talked about some "general things" then talked about the coming of Christmas and how that would effect his store.  (Open till 10 on Christmas Eve but closed on Christmas Day).  Then he told me how he and his wife would share Christmas morning.  As I listened I was stunned; this is a story to share...
He told me that on Christmas morning that I-hop was one of the few restaurants that would be open and that for the past several years he and his wife have spent Christmas morning there.  He told me that his children were grown and would not be able to come for Christmas, but that he and his wife would have a leisurely breakfast at I-hop and then "enjoy the blessing of buying other customers meals."  I know I must have looked shocked.  He went on to tell me, "It's amazing how many people are all alone, in I-hop, on Christmas morning.  They look lonely and sad, many look like they are dealing with troubled times.  So my wife and I tell the waitress, ' bring us the check for that one,' "bring us the check for that couple over there,' 'let us have the check for that family.'  Many of them never know who paid for their meal but some figure it out and come to thank us.  When they ask us why we bought their breakfast we simply say, 'This is Christmas morning, the day when Jesus was born and God announced to the world that He loved us; we want you to know that He loves you too.'"

I didn't quite know how to respond to his story.  I never told him that I was a pastor or a family therapist.  I simply said, "What a wonderful and blessed way to spend Christmas."  But I knew that this was a story I wanted to be a part of and I knew that this was a story to share.  

When I returned to my church I visited with some of our leaders and we decided to take some money from our Helping Hands fund for me to give this gentleman to assist in his ministry of blessing others on Christmas morning.  But then, the story really got interesting...

The next day I went to a civic club meeting and it just so happened that the "program for the day" had fallen through.  So, after the meal, the President conducted a couple of items of business then asked, "Before we adjourn does anyone have anything to share?"  I quickly offered to share a brief Christmas story.  As I shared the story about the man and his wife who loved to buy meals for strangers on Christmas morning at I-hop; a young lady in our club said, "Oh, my gosh!"  She then went on to say, "three years ago I was going through a difficult and chaotic time and I had my children on Christmas morning with no breakfast meal prepared.  So, I took them to I-hop.  As we were eating the waitress came up and said, 'your meal has been paid for this morning.'  I was stunned and never knew who it was who actually bought our breakfast but I can tell you it was a wonderful blessing for me and my children that Christmas Day.'"  When she told me the I-hop she had gone to I knew it had to be the same "saints" that I had come to know.

I cannot begin to tell you how blessed I was by this sequence of encounters.  Further, I was truly encouraged to find that in the midst of so much turmoil, strife, and division in our world, there are people whose only goal on Christmas morning is to make sure that others are blessed and to help them know that God loves them on this special day.  This is truly a story to share!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Dr. Allen Schneider is a  United Methodist pastor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist presently serving the Sapulpa and greater Tulsa communities.

    Archives

    February 2025
    November 2024
    August 2024
    May 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    May 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    September 2016
    April 2016
    May 2015

    Category

    All
    Caring
    Christian Living
    Christmas
    Easter
    Encouragement
    Family
    Friendship
    God's Care
    Grief
    Hope
    Inspiration
    Life Transitions
    Love
    Marriage
    Mental Health
    Mother's Day
    Patriotism
    Perseverance
    Prayer
    Relationships
    SFBT
    Solution Focused
    Stress
    Suicide
    Valentine's Day
    Wise Living

    RSS Feed

Come:
​1401 E. Taft, Sapulpa, Ok.
Call:
918-914-HOPE (4673)
Contact:
Link to Contact Page
Connect:
Sign Up For Newsletter
Photos from Base Camp Baker, amateur photography by michel, Homini:), shankar s., KatVitulano Photos
  • Home
  • Therapist
  • Counseling
  • Services
  • Approach
  • Office Policies
  • Questions
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Make Payment