THE FIRST UNITED |
February 2010 |
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How Will You Be Remembered?
I recently heard a story about a woman whose father died when she was only a little girl. She lamented that she had so few memories of her father, but perhaps that made her cherish the ones she had even more. One of those cherished memories was of the time when she lost her first tooth. That day the tooth had been so lose she could wiggle it way back and forth with her tongue, but it just would not come out. Her mother kept saying to her, “Wait until your father comes home. Wait until your father comes home.”
When her father finally arrived home, she ran right up to him and showed him her lose tooth. “Let me take a look at that,” he said, and began to wiggle it with his big fingers. Before she knew what was happening, he had pinched it between two fingers and pulled it right out! She was more astonished than hurt, and studied the tooth carefully. As she examined it on all sides, her father began to tell her about the tooth fairy. Soon she was more entranced with his fairy stories than with the tooth. She had no idea her father knew so much about the tooth fairy.
That night when she went to bed, she carefully placed the tooth under her pillow, and squeezed her eyes tightly. It was so hard to fall asleep when what you wanted to do was fall asleep! Finally she realized she must have fallen asleep because it was beginning to get light again outside. Filled with expectation she slid her hand under her pillow and found -- her tooth! This couldn’t be! She crawled right out of bed and ran downstairs where her father was already getting his breakfast.
“Daddy, the tooth fairy didn’t come!” she cried. Her father saw the deep look of disappointment and confusion on her face. He scooped her up in his big arms, looked right into her eyes now filling with tears, and said, “You look so disappointed. You just knew there would be a shiny quarter under your pillow this morning.”
“What could have happened daddy?” she sobbed. With the most reassuring voice he could muster, her father began to explain how so many little girls and boys must have lost a tooth yesterday that the tooth fairy did not have enough time to get around to every house. In fact, her father began to pick up speed as he told it, the tooth fairy might right now be on the way to their very house. She should go back to her room, place the tooth under her pillow, climb into bed and go right back to sleep. The little girl hurried back to her room and did as her father had told her.
But before she had fallen asleep, even with her eyes tightly closed, she could hear heavy footsteps in the hall approaching her room. This wasn’t right. Fairies fly. She heard the door to her room open and soon sensed the presence of a very large person beside her bed. She lay as still as she could knowing she had to be asleep for the fairy to leave anything. But it wasn’t a delicate little fairy hand she felt slipping under her pillow; no, it was a big, hairy one! As the footsteps moved away from her bed and out her door, she took just one quick peak and spotted the light reflecting off the balding spot of a head that looked a lot like her dad’s.
She waited discreetly for a few moments thinking about what to do. Then she reached under her pillow. Sure enough, there was a shiny quarter. Quick as a flash she was out of bed and ran down the hall to find her older sister. At twelve, her big sister knew everything. The little girl poured out her story. Her big sister listened carefully and then without missing a beat replied, “Oh, that’s easy. You saw the gentle giant. When the tooth fairy is running behind, the gentle giant often helps her finish a night’s work.”
Now the little girl was off to the kitchen to ask her father why he hadn’t told her about the gentle giant. But before she could begin, her older sister was already telling her father how her little sister had seen the gentle giant leaving her room after the giant had put a shiny quarter under her pillow. Her father apologized for forgetting to tell her about the gentle giant and gave her a big hug.
It wasn’t long after that the little girl’s father died. Today she doesn’t remember many stories about her father, but she does remember the night she lost her first tooth. It is a treasured memory because every time she thinks of it, she remembers how much she was loved by her dad. But not only that. This event in her early life has been a reminder to her throughout her adult life, that it is OK to make mistakes. Her dad wasn’t perfect. But when he realized he had made a mistake, he just went to work making it right for the person he had hurt. And one more thing this story means to her. It always reminds her that she comes from a very creative family!
Hearing this story on the radio made me stop and think -- what character shaping memories am I creating in the lives of the people around me? We never know what potentially life-long impact our words and deeds may have on another. Often it only takes a few minutes, some caring listening, some sensitivity to what someone else is feeling. Love and creativity are wonderful partners, and when we let them be directed by the Holy Spirit, God can use you in amazing ways! Perhaps this story will give you a fresh way of thinking about our Winter Warmth campaign. Never underestimate the impact of even a small deed of love and welcome.
Pastor Nicholson
