Is there a doctor in your house?

“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good…” Acts 10:38 NIV

I got an email this week from a friend who felt convicted to share a story of faith. I know the feeling she described. She just felt like the story had been inside of her heart long enough. It had to come out. It is a few words longer than normal, but please give it a minute. The message is beautiful.

At the end of October, my son Ty and I were coming home from the bus stop, when we noticed two little boys (ages 9 and 11) chasing our sheep and turkeys with sticks. I tried to yell at them to ask them what they were doing, but they continued to scare the animals and were quite disrespectful. One boy even lifted his arms, and shook his head at me, like "bring it." As we know, I am in no condition to be running, but I chased them right out of my pasture. I yelled at them to never come back again. They made me so mad. Well, 10 minutes later, they were back! They came back three times that night, and I was seriously angry, and a little nervous. I was not sure what their motive was, but I did not like it.

As the days went on, I started asking around to see if anyone knew who these little boys were. Everyone I talked to had heard of these little rats, and almost every response was, "Stay away!" I heard they do not respect anyone, they are mean, constantly in trouble at school, constantly causing trouble, steal everything, have horrible language, no structure in the home, and they set their basement on fire. I was even told they were the kind of kids who will probably return and kill my animals just for the heck of it. I was scared. I hate to admit it, but I did not even want to leave my house because I wasn't sure what they were going to do.

My husband Layth kept telling me that they are kids, and it will be fine. But the more we heard about them, the more we both were a little concerned. I was going to put up “No Trespassing” signs, an electric fence, and buy a pellet gun. That is where my heart was.

A week later, I had a treatment with Dr. Brady. He calls me out on everything. I am not sure why I decided to bring up the kids, but I told him what had been going on. His response? "You and your neighbors should be ashamed of yourselves. How would the Savior act? Out of love or out of fear? Instead of being afraid, you should be taking cookies over and introducing yourself. People who are happy don't act that way...there is obviously a story." Well, I was a bit shocked! I thought he was totally on my side, but no, he put me right in my place. As I left that day, he had me thinking for sure. I know I was not ready to take cookies over, but he definitely planted a seed.

A week after that, we were eating dinner as a family, and the kids came back!! Layth went out this time, to settle my fears. As soon as they saw Layth, they ran as fast as they could. So Layth jumped over the fence and went right to the house. He knocked until the mom came to the door. He wanted to let the mom know that the boys were not in trouble, we just couldn't have them hurting or scaring the animals. As Layth was talking, he looked around at their circumstance and realized why there was a problem. Through talking with people, we learned that the mom had had an aneurysm during her 5th delivery, and it left her with stroke like symptoms. She has a hard time talking and uses a walker or wheelchair. There are five kids in the home, four boys, and a little girl. The dad just got done with testicular cancer treatment and works bell to bell to try and make ends meet. The kids run amuck, little money, and poor living conditions. It is sad.

As Layth was talking to the mom, the kids came back to the pasture. I ran out there and yelled, "Do you guys want to feed the turkeys?! (It was pouring rain). They yelled, “NOOO!”, and I just kept walking closer like I couldn't hear them. "Do you want to feed the turkeys?" "Noooo!" I finally got close enough, where I could call them by name and actually get them to stop. I got within 10 feet of the 11-year-old boy and said, "Look, I want to apologize for how I handled that situation the other day. We're really nice people, we just can't have you hurting our animals." I then turned to the 9-year-old, who had big holes in his shoes, and asked him if he would forgive me. It was like they had never heard those words before. They started softening before my eyes. As I was talking, Layth came up from behind them, and asked if they wanted to feed the turkeys. They said no, but Layth is so gentle and kind, and he urged them to do it. They walked up to the front gate and we got them some grain. The 11-year-old boy told me that they were just trying to feed the sheep that day (with the world's sharpest sticks:)), and I just believed him and moved on. Layth told me to get some candy, so we filled their pockets with treats, and by the end of our exchange, they were melting in our hands. There was no fear or hate or anger. Just kindness and good feelings. I was so grateful I had the opportunity to apologize and make it right. My heart had changed. Instead of fear, my heart was turning to LOVE, and that is the best feeling in the world. I was actually looking forward to when the kids came back.

Well, I couldn't shake that family. My thoughts were constantly turned toward them, and I wanted to do something. I thought, if that little boy comes back, I'm going to ask him his shoe size and throw him a pair of Nikes over the fence. Then, when I was teaching, their family came up twice, (my visiting teachers both brought them up and knew of their family situation), and that's when I knew we needed to do something to help. I talked to Layth that night, and we both agreed that we had a great opportunity to do a lot of good...so that's how OPERATION SANTA was born.

It started with a small idea. Let's find out the needs of this family and see if we can get the kids an outfit and gift for Christmas, and maybe a pair of shoes. A friend volunteered to make the flyer, (it was amazing), and some neighbor kids, along with my son Ty, ran them around our neighborhood. I felt strongly about including the neighbors and extended it to our family as well.

One day, after our church meeting, my friends Mandy, Val, and Julie helped me make a giving tree and put the leaves with the needed items on them. We put the tree in my entryway and taped around 200 leaves onto the branches. I told Layth, all I cared about was that some people responded to my flyer, took some leaves, and if we could collect $250 in cash. I would have been ecstatic. I'm here to tell you, PEOPLE ARE GOOD. So good, and so generous. My friend Ashley came first, she was my first little elf, and the idea exploded in her neighborhood. Little by little, people would stop by with their families and pick the leaves they wanted to donate. (Within a week, the leaves were almost gone!) We were also able to get sizes, and specific needs for each child. My family was amazing, my dad's office called and wanted to help. Layth's family was right by my side, and it started to happen. I delivered a few flyers to friends outside our neighborhood. One lady I didn't even know donated a hundred dollars. I asked for all items to be back to me by a certain day, (I think that was the key to the success...good timing), and people kept coming and coming, donating and donating. It became a full-time job! There were multiple times I was so overcome with emotion. It is amazing what can happen when a group of people come together for a good cause. It was powerful.

I heard stories of little kids earning money to pay for the items on their leaves, one family donated $5 because that's all they could do. Ty donated. We met people who are not active in any church but are the salt of the earth. One young man showed up and said, "I can go buy some shampoo and conditioner." I was touched every single day. My heart was going to burst with gratitude. I found the underlying thing was people want to help...they just don't know how. A lot of people thanked me for the opportunity. Needless to say, Operation Santa exploded. It quadrupled. People would donate way more than was asked. Our entire office was full. My mom bought the kids shoes. We received Shoes, boots, coats, beanies, gloves, 2-3 outfits per kid, (that were awesome quality), sooooo many games, toys, movies, blankets, jammies, pillows, Christmas pillow cases, towels, washcloths, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, toilet paper, brushes, deodorant, fingernail clippers, socks, sleds, a snow shovel, robe, slippers, toothpaste and brushes, wrapping paper, tape, money, haircut/color for mom, lego’s, darts, games, dolls, puzzles, playdoh, coloring stuff, crayons, laundry detergent, stockings, I could go on and on. Oh, and a haircut and color for mom. We figured there was over $4,000 in stuff that was donated, and $1100 in cash! I know, I know!!!!!!!! Because of the response, we needed help wrapping. I asked my neighborhood if they would help. Another great response. I set up a hot chocolate bar, with donuts of course, and we wrapped on Tuesday from 11-5...a constant stream of ladies helping. It was amazing.

We went back and forth on how to deliver this goodness. We all agreed on a plan and loaded 5 cars worth of stuff. It was a sight to behold. I sat across the street and watched. I was saying a prayer out loud..."Heavenly Father, if you want this thing to go down, you have to open that door! Open the door! Open the door!" I saw the door slowly open, and I just started bawling. My arms went up in the air, and I yelled, “The door is opening!!! Michelle told the mom she had a delivery, and the mom was so gracious and kind. Then she noticed everyone behind her and the presents kept coming and coming and coming and coming.

The mom was crying so hard that her shoulders were shaking. Their tree was a little pine branch in the corner, the couch had duct tape and the house was very lived in. The little girl looked like Cindy Lou Who with silver dollar eyes, and the 11-year-old was just staring. We filled the ENTIRE living room with presents.

It was the coolest experience ever. I am so grateful we pulled it off. I definitely could not have pulled off something like this alone. Layth and I counted 70 families that helped donate to Operation Santa. The feeling of unity and love has been so strong this Christmas season. I kept thinking of the scripture, "Jesus went about doing good." That has become our family motto.

My brother-in-law Kyle shared the story during one of his lessons at church. He said they had a great discussion on calling people to action, and actually doing something when they see a need. I credit my doctor for calling me out on a situation handled poorly. I'm grateful I had the opportunity to turn things around...especially in my heart and become like the Savior. Who knows what the effects will be from this, but I do know it changed our family for the better. We are looking forward to more opportunities like this.

Layth and Lindsey Christofferson

Reading their story, I had some observations:

First, this family was willing to have their eyes opened. We have been blessed to know them for 15 years. No one who knows them will be surprised by their willingness. In spite of their initial thoughts, they had to be willing to have their eyes opened to the exact opposite reality. That is not always easy. If we close our Spiritual eyes, we miss opportunities.

Second, the number of people who jumped in and helped was large and diverse. Good willed people will do nearly anything for perfect strangers if the need is known. Be open to God letting you know someone’s need through unexpected channels.

At the same time, we should open our hearts to God meeting our needs in unexpected ways, like a baby born in a manger. Look at the world through spiritual eyes. If we have a need, we have to be open to the opportunities to share our need, or willing strangers will never even know. The helpers in this story feel every bit as blessed as the family who had a need.

Lastly, Lindsey got called out by her doctor. She was there for a physical treatment and ended up getting a spiritual re-alignment. That means that he woke up that morning willing to say what God had clearly planted. That is risky. People can reject you. Customers can leave. Money can be lost. Bosses can fire you. I would gladly go to that physician. Without his willingness, this story does not unfold.

We have all had someone try to speak wisdom to us. Sometimes we are open hearted, sometimes not. However, we have all probably also been in the position of that doctor, feeling the urge to speak but staying quiet for fear of rejection or feeling like that is not our place. Sometimes it is not our place. But sometimes it is. Not everyone’s business is open game. However, there are times God is absolutely the author of our conversations. We just have to be willing.

Do you hang around with anyone who speaks biblical truth into your life? Do you have a doctor? Is it possible that God placed them in your life so that He can work, on you or on them?

Do you have people in your life who need a spiritual doctor? God routinely uses average, flawed people, like you and I to do extraordinary things. In particular, you are the best candidate for the job in your own house.

Challenge 1: Most people I know will help someone in need, but keeping our hearts aligned is hard. I would bet that some people who have helped me have at times thought they should not have needed to. I also feel convicted as I write this that after seeing a need I have let my own doubts guide me more than scripture at times. Sometimes we are the patient. Sometimes we are the doctor. The challenge is being aware and thankful that God is working in both.

Challenge 2: That feeling you get on Christmas when a gift you picked hits the recipient right in the heart can be beautiful. But it can also be beautiful on any of the other 364 days of the year. Keep the radar on all year. You do not have to go to the length this story describes very often. More likely, small kindnesses can be extended with joy – all year.

Rick Claiborn