My dad had just graduated from law school in Jackson, Mississippi. I’m sure he didn’t have a lot of money. It’s hard to know whether I really remember things as a 4 year old or have created the images from stories told over and over. I just remember going to a store front where a model train circled in the store window. My dad was asking me questions about the train. Then the next thing I know, on Christmas morning, I had one….a Lionel model train! It was all so cool the coal car, the caboose and the powerful engine with a head light.
I love laying my head on the floor right where the train took a curve watching the “giant” light coming at my face in the dark. Cool at least until the train de-railed on my face.
In my office I have a part of the track on a shelf behind my desk. It’s that part of the track that has a switch to direct the train in one direction or the other. I put it there to remind me of the choices in life, and how quickly life’s journey can change.
That has happened for me many times, but the most dramatic changed in 1971 when Barry Stephens told me that God loved me, had plans for me and they were good plans. He explained the role of Jesus in my world.
This week I celebrate the birth of Jesus whose life gave me life. I heard someone say a while back that Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good, but make dead people alive.
Thank you God for giving me life through your Son! Happy Birthday Jesus!
