Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I am in love with the wonder of the Christmas story and the pageantry of the nativity setting. It has never been about receiving gifts for me; not when I was young and even now. I receive greater joy in giving gifts to others than receiving them myself.
My parents never lavished lots of gifts on me and my brother when we were children like people do today. Truthfully, they couldn’t afford it. Sometimes we weren’t sure if we would receive gifts on Christmas, but we were always promised that if we didn’t, we would receive them afterwards. That’s because the years when the ministry and Faith Tabernacle Church were in their infancy, finances were tight. The ministry was taking on a lot of debt: building mortgage, new offset press, professional cutter, wire stitcher, folder, and all the supplies that went into producing Faith Is Action magazine, which debuted in February 1962. The ministry had also launched out into national radio, requiring the purchase of professional audio equipment. And it was necessary to hire employees to run these outreaches. Often, the closer it got to Christmas, the tighter the finances were.
I was in junior high school when I asked my parents for a record player for Christmas. I am talking about a very basic LP album player in a box which played one record at a time. I wanted to be able to listen to music in my bedroom. Mom explained to me that the church was experiencing a drop in offerings. Many times when this occurred, my parents did not take a salary from the church. We lived next door in the church parsonage, so that was covered. She told me that after Christmas, when things were better financially, they would get me the record player that I wanted. I remember that I was not upset in the least. I understood the situation and was content to wait till after Christmas for my record player. I knew they would get me one when they were able to take a salary again.
Christmas week arrived, and I was caught up in the beauty of the season and our annual Christmas play at church. We decorated our home for Christmas, and on Christmas Eve, as was our custom, my brother Chochie, who was nine years younger than me, eagerly opened his inexpensive toys. We always opened our gifts on Christmas Eve after we came home from our church service. As Christmas music played on the radio, I felt warmly content by the spirituality of this holy season.
Having stayed up late on Christmas Eve, my parents slept in Christmas morning. Chochie was up bright and early to play with his new toys. Then I noticed a wrapped box under the tree with my name on it. I quickly opened it with excitement—I just knew what it was going to be. And I was not disappointed when I pushed up the latch on the aqua-colored square box to reveal the record player inside.
And there was more—two brand-new records: George Beverly Shea and The Chuck Wagon Gang. These two genres couldn’t be farther apart! But I was thrilled, and I played those two records every day for a long time. Gradually, I would add other great gospel music, including The Edwin Hawkins Singers joyfully filling my bedroom with “O Happy Day—when Jesus washed my sins away!”
I don’t know if my parents were testing me to see how I would respond to having to wait until after Christmas, or if God came through with a last-minute financial blessing. But I know that even then, my young heart trusted that I would get my record player later. I knew mom and dad would come through, because I knew that God would come through. He always had, because He always does when we trust Him.
Perhaps my parents were proud of me for handling the situation with such a good attitude. Looking back, I can only imagine that it was truly because my young heart had fallen totally in love with the real meaning of Christmas—O Happy Day!
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