The Gift

Sometimes things you do during your lifetime don't seem to amount to a hill of beans.  You go on trying your best but all seems to be done in vain as you receive no recognition, no awards, not even a simple thanks.  Then..one small gesture can make all the difference in the world and that gesture can change the way you think about things from that day forward.  Years ago, I used to go over to help with an uncle that was in the later stages of Parkinson's Disease.  He needed help doing most everything and his sister just could not provide care day and night.  I did not mind because he was a most kindly old gentleman and our time spent together was special to me.  But this story is not about Uncle Prentiss, rather about a most unlikely person.

Each morning when I would arrive at Uncle Prentiss' house, I would notice an elderly gentleman several houses down the road.  His daughter would place the man in his wheelchair and push him outside to enjoy the sunshine.  There he would sit...yelling obscenities to all that passed.  He, at one time, had been quite the jovial fellow but a stroke had left him severely changed.  Each morning, I would wave at him only to catch the brunt of one of his tirades.  This made me more determined than ever to "brighten" his day.  I soon would call "Good morning, Sir!" to him...again to be cursed.  I kept it up for several weeks to no avail.  He was sour to the world!  As the weeks grew into months, I mustered the courage to walk over to his yard before entering my uncle's house.  This did not make things better..I was threatened and cursed!  Every morning was the same but every morning I had renewed determination!  I talked with his daughter and found a few things that he liked which encouraged me!  I would bring him things like an apple or perhaps some fresh vegetables from the garden.  He would snatch the bag from my hands and yell at me to get off his property.  I guess I am a glutton for punishment because each morning I was back to visit him!  This went on for quite some time then one morning, I noticed that his daughter was having a garage sale!  Ahhh..a new excuse to visit the grouchy old man!  Later, Mark and I made a visit to the garage sale and I got the surprise of my life! After buying a few things, I noticed a handmade stable that was to hold a Nativity Set for Christmas. There were no figurines in the stable..it was empty and sort of sad. I had the overwhelming urge to buy the little wooden stable!  When I reached for it, the old man told me that he had made it.  These were the first nice words that I had ever heard from him!  Excited, I bent down near his chair and talked with him about the stable.  He showed me how he had marked where each figure should stand and how to turn on a light in the back!  As we talked, I noticed that he was smiling broadly!  His daughter said that her father had wanted me to have the stable because I was nice to him!  Like that old Grinch, my heart grew three sizes that day!  His kind gesture was perhaps the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me.  Not because it was a highly expensive prize that he had given me but it was the most valuable gift..the gift of love.

Every Christmas Season since that day, I have put the stable out and filled it with my own Nativity Scene.  Amazingly enough, the figurines that Mark and I had bought years prior fit perfectly!  Now every year, my heart swells as I think of the old man.  After seeing him at the garage sale, he waited for me to drive down the road to my uncle's house.  His hand would start waving as soon as he saw my car turn on the road.  He would smile broadly as I walked to greet him and give him a hug.  His daughter said that life was much easier since I started doing this but to be honest, I do not know who received more..him or me. Strangely enough, I never knew his name...not that it mattered. We were friends.