Christmas time is my favorite time of year. Sure I get tired of the commercialism, but love is always just below the surface. People are hurrying around trying to get last minute shopping done, but many if not most, still take time to think about others.
One my wife and my Christmas traditions is to go out to eat at a nice restaurant, just the two of us. We usually do this a few days before Christmas. Since Christmas is usually spent with families, we want a special time for the two of us. We have done this every year for the past 35 years.
As is often the case, this year we went to the Plaza. The Country Club Plaza is our favorite part of Kansas City and our home for a few years until last year. We decided to go to Houston’s for ribs. It seems odd that the best ribs in a barbeque town are not even at a barbeque restaurant, but Houston’s are the best.
As we finished up our dinner, the waitress said, “Oh, by the way, your ticket has been taken care of, you don’t owe anything.” It seems an anonymous person had already paid for our meal. What a joy and blessing to know that someone was willing to share love in such an unselfish way.
Even during a time in my life when resources were much more plentiful than they are now, I never did that.
We have many opportunities to share the love of God with others. Paying somebody else’s ticket at a restaurant is one; but lending a hand to person in need, or an ear to someone who just needs to talk, also shows Gods love.
But why wait until Christmas, I want to show love to those around me every day of the year.
