Elwood called this morning at 5:30! A little too early for me and most out of
character for Elwood. He was all excited
and giddier than I have ever known him to be.
I think he has too much cocoa and cherries dipped in dark chocolate.
I was thinking as he talked that now might be a good time to
see if he was using the oil intended to calm him down. Then I realized he most likely was not.
As he talked ninety miles an hour it was most evident there
was a reason for the call.
I was very curious.
“Elwood,” I said into the phone, a little louder than I
intended to, “why are you calling at this hour?”
“Jeff, you have to see the most recent post circulating on
Facebook and make sure that he like it and share it and maybe even comment on
it because it is the best yet as I am telling you that you don’t want to miss
it today cause it is truly the truth I’m telling you,” he said without taking a
breath.
Then he was talking about getting everything ready for the
big night for the big guy. I am honestly
telling you the truth when I say that I could not get a word in edge wise. He was blistering my ear.
Finally he took a breath and I said, “Elwood, I have got to
go. Savannah has her last day at
basketball camp and I need to get ready.”
“Alright,” Elwood said, “call me back later, please!”
“Well do,” I said as I pressed the end button on my cell
phone and rolled back over in bed and sent back to sleep.
Savannah woke me at 7:30.
I heard my smart phone beep and reached for it. In the notifications I saw that I had an
email from Elwood.
“Hey Jeff, just wanted to say sorry for waking you so early
this morning. Hope you saw the
post. As you know we are making plans
for all the main stuff that goes under the trees and getting ready to start the
‘Naughty or Nice List.’ Make sure you
look at the post and don’t try to fool me cause I am watching. Elwood.”
Opening the Facebook App, I looked through recent post and
found want he was talking about. It was
a picture of a little girl elf, with a caption that read, “Umm, we’re just 6
months away from Christmas. Just wanted
you to know.”
I was amazed!
I was amused!
I was alerted!
Six months until Christmas and the big guy sails through the
air, dropping presents around the world.
Wow!
On the way home from school, after depositing Savannah I
called Elwood.
“Hey,” I said, “saw the post, shared it and now I am
intrigued. Why was this so important you
would wake me at 5:30, in the morning?
This morning? Why?”
“First, you needed to be reminded,” Elwood quietly and
patiently explained. “Secondly, it is
Maggie, our little Bear Manager, who is in the picture. Third, you should have known that the message
is important.”
“Oh,” I replied, still not really sure what was what.
“Look, Jeff, six months until Christmas. Understand?” Elwood said.
Yet he did not wait on my answer.
“We are packing bags in the distribution center as we
speak. Elves are working around the
clock making, packaging and packing; like a bunch of busy beavers. We will start our daily meetings next week as
we check the list for the good and the bad.
Boys and girls have got to know that now is important. Now is the time to watch out because we are
watching them. The message has to be
shared and who better but you and those on your friends list?”
There was pause, so I spoke up. “Elwood, it is really important, right? Knowing when the day is coming, right?”
“By George, I think he has it!” Elwood said with a long
laugh. “Six months; that is 181 days
until the time when we see the sleigh and eight tiny reindeer fly away with the
big guy, Santa himself, in the seat with the reins in hand.”
“Oh my,” was all I could say.
“Listen, this is heads up time. Time to remind the children that it will only
be a few short months until they are opening presents, enjoying all the candy,
singing festive songs and squealing with delight.”
I was beginning to get excited about the big day myself.
“I have a few questions?” Elwood said on a more serious
side.
“Alright, ask and let me see if I can find an answer,” was
my reply.
“First, who is the person who commented about Christmas
being every day of the year?”
“That was a very dear friend, like sister. Elwood she is right you know?”
“Oh sure, she is right, Jeff,” Elwood responded. “When Jesus is in your heart, every day is a
day for giving, enjoying the blessings and celebrating the birth of Jesus. She will surely get something very special
from the big guy.”
“Thanks, Elwood,” I said as I grinned thinking about my
sweet lamb God has used to bring such joy to our family.”
“Another question, if you have time,” Elwood asked.
“Go ahead,” I answered.
“Who was the one who put me on her naughty list?”
“Oh my,” I said with a frown.
“You tell her that she needs to comment that she will take
me off her naughty list so I will take her off my naughty list and she will be
on the nice list. That was so wrong in
more ways than one.”
“I’ll deliver the message,” I replied.
“I like her. Always
enjoy the little surprises because she does such a good job at what she does,
but she could really get into some hot water with comments like that. Especially right now, as ole St. Nick seems
to be stressed more than I have ever seen him in years past.”
“I will be praying and anything I can do, just let me know,”
I said as helpfully as I could.
“You keep telling people about Jesus and why we celebrate
Christmas. We will take care of the
rest!”
With those words we lost connection.
