Jessie At Home
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I believe

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I-BelievePin

I was 16 years old. Twenty years have past, but I will always remember that day.

I had a part time job at Hancock fabrics in Westerville, OH. Christmas was soon to be upon us, yet it was a rather slow day. There were only four of us in the store, all employees, including Kim, our manager. Other then the Christmas music piping through the store, it was very quite.

The bell on the door jingled, and in he walked. He was an older gentleman, with a white beard and matching hair. He wore a red sweater and blue jeans. As he got closer, it was hard not to notice his rosy cheeks and nose. We all smiled a bit and tried not to giggle at the thought of who he looked like. The gentleman made his selection and brought it to the cutting table, where we all had assembled, as there was really nothing else to do in that moment, and his selection was so…curious.

Thwap, thwap. One of the others unrolled the red velvet he had placed on the table. We all looked at it, and the red lining, and the white faux fur. Finally someone asked, “New suit?”

“No, new toy bag.” He then proceeded to tell us one of the most beautiful stories I have ever heard.

He was a volunteer with an organization that houses and cares for woman and children who have escaped from abusive situations. Just that in itself is noble, but what he did with that organization changed the way I have lived my life from that point forward.

You see, as Christmas approached, he would start receiving calls. He would be told a day and time and approximate number of children. At the appointed time, he would wait in his Santa suit with his bag, and a car full of presents would arrive. The driver would take him to an undisclosed location. Never the same place twice. Sometimes hours away. He would load up his bag and fill it with the presents. Then his driver would escort him into a room, decorated for Christmas and full of children. Children in hiding. Children who had very few reasons to smile anymore. For several hours those children would smile. They would laugh. They would forgot all their fears. For that moment, they would be like every other child at Christmas. They would sit on Santa’s lap, and receive presents, just for them.

The gentleman told us every time he did this it both broke his heart, and filled him with joy. He said it was the most fulfilling job (even though he was a volunteer) he had ever had.

Kim rang him up at the register, giving him her discount, and he left. She walked back to the cutting table where the rest of us were still standing. Silence.

Finally, someone spoke. “We just met the real Santa Clause.”

We all agreed.

I can’t speak for the rest of those ladies, but that day forever changed me. It made me see the importance of helping others when I can. Even if I don’t have money to donate, I have other skills. I may not have the look to be Santa, but I have some very useful talents. I can make handmade items for various organizations as I so often do through Craft Hope. I can volunteer when a local community is in need. I can teach my children the importance of caring and helping. There is so much I can do, even as I sit here wondering if I will be able to pay the mortgage next month, scared that we may have to sell the house,I still have more then many. I can still help. And I do. I remember the day I met the real Santa Clause, and I help. I give. I love. And that makes me so rich, so happy, so glad of the example I am able to show my children.

Merry Christmas my friends. Regardless of your religions, your holiday beliefs, I wish you all happiness and peace. This day and every day that follows.

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©Copyright 2012 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns, charts, photos and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.

6 thoughts on “I believe”

  1. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful story. I am always touched by how the seemingly simple things we do can make such a difference in the lives of others. (And after I finish up my Christmas sewing today, I’m getting started on some stuffed animals to send your way!)

    Reply
  2. That is awesome, Jessie! I do a look of behind the scenes work with battered womens organizations. They were there for me and my boys; it’s the least I can do now. I’m going to check out Craft Hope as well!

    Reply
    • The hospital down the road is the drop off for donations to our local shelter. Sometimes I donate handmade items or good hand~me~downs. I always think of the day I met Santa when I do.

      Reply

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