My friends tell
me their secret to keeping their kids under control during the Christmas season
is The Elf on the Shelf. Several
years ago a children’s book popularized the story of an elf doll that sits on a
shelf and “watches” the kids during the day. In the evening he reports to Santa
about whether the kids have been naughty or nice. Then the next day the elf watches
from another location in the house and reports back to Santa that evening.
It reminded
me of several years ago when I wanted jewelry for Christmas. Tim was glad to
have one of his most challenging gifts figured out, or so he thought. If he just
accompanied me to the jewelry store, his shopping would be done.
This
jewelry store wasn’t a typical storefront. It was located at the end of a long
hallway and looked much like an office. Instead of display cases, it had locked
cabinets lining the four sides of the room. The jewelry, each one in a
beautiful box, was pulled out a piece at a time. After I tried it on, it was
returned to the box, placed in the drawer and locked inside the cabinet before
the next piece was brought out.
My favorite
was a simple, elegant, gold necklace called an Omega. I had wanted one with a
diamond pendent for a long time. When I
noticed the price tag, I knew it was much more than what Tim had planned on
spending.
I told the
jeweler that Tim and I needed to talk about it over lunch. Tim said to me, “Let's
just go ahead and buy the necklace and a diamond pendant.” I asked him how much he thought the necklace
cost. He whispered, “Probably, $200 or
$300.” I told him the price was actually
$1,500 and that was just for the necklace! We both knew it was a bit too
spendy, however, that didn’t stop me from dreaming about having an Omega
necklace with a diamond pendant.
The
following month we were in Vail skiing. One morning, before we hit the slopes, we
walked to the grocery store from our rented condominium. I almost stepped on something on the
sidewalk. Tim reached down and picked it
up. It was a necklace covered in mud and
snow.
When we got
back to the condo, I cleaned the necklace and saw just how beautiful it was. I
imagined how distraught the woman who lost this gold necklace must be. I reported it to the condo front desk and
gave them my cell phone number. I also ran
an advertisement in the local paper. No one ever claimed it.
I feel like
an elf placed the Omega necklace with a diamond pendant in the snow for me to
find. Sometimes an unexpected surprise causes me the greatest joy. Today, I had
the chance to do that for someone else, albeit on a smaller scale.
I was in
the church library when a woman hurriedly came in with several empty, white grocery
bags. She said that she was asked to remove the decorations and wasn’t sure
she’d have time to get it all done before the next church service began. She
surveyed the decorations and then quickly glanced at the clock. I immediately took
the Santa Claus off of the shelf and placed it on the table. I continued by
removing the garland from around the edges of the room.
Today’s
gift was to help her remove the Christmas decorations. She said it was so nice
to have an “Elf” who was there at the right time to help her.
I felt like
a good elf and not the elf on the shelf that reports bad things to Santa. Maybe
the kids would be better behaved if they knew there was a good elf watching out
for them. Instead of the Elf on a Shelf, maybe it could be an Encouraging Elf
to lift up those who need it.
In Giving,
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