“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalm 37:4

St. Nicholas December 6th

A simple German tradition passed down from my parents. On December 6th, St. Nicholas would leave something in the stocking hung outside the door. If I had been good all year, the stocking would contain a small treat. Usually, a candy cane, an orange, and a coloring book. One year I received a bundle of wood. Not a good sign. This meant I needed to greatly, improve my conduct before Christmas. Otherwise, instead of presents there would be more wood or coal under the tree.

I explained all this to my grandchildren, this year, before handing them the surprise St. Nicholas had left for them. The small red and white striped bear brought a smile to my seven year old granddaughter’s face. The bundle of tiny candy canes, an added bonus.

Logan, my four year old grandson didn’t appear happy with his gift. A slight smile and a thank you were given, but I sensed his disappointment. I assumed he was getting too old for stuffed toys, so next year I decided there would be a small car or truck instead.

Later in the day my daughter called to explain the reason for Logan’s disappointment.

He came to her and said, “I wish I had been really bad.”

“What do you mean,” she asked.

“I wish I had been really bad,” he repeated.

Confused, my daughter asked, “Why?”

“If I had been bad,” Logan explained. “I would have gotten wood instead. Then I could have built a boat.”

I’d better start gathering wood now for next year. Logan didn’t say how big a boat he wants to build. After all, we just finished studying Noah’s Ark in Sunday school. If the story ended there it would be a cute family tale. This is the rest of Logan’s story.

The following Friday morning, Logan was home with me. When the door bell rang, I was surprised to see the man who had cut down some damaged trees for me during the summer.

“Could you use some dry kindling for your wood stove?” he asked.

I was touched by his kindness and said, “Yes.”

He carried in two large cardboard boxes of wood from a local lumber mill. The boxes contained tung and groove pine boards. The short broken pieces were apparently scrap. I thanked him and he left.

Logan was standing over the boxes excited and amazed. “It’s my boat” he said.

I realized he was right. For the next few minutes, he talked about the boat he wanted. “A small sailboat that I can float on the creek,” he decided.

I have a creek that runs through my property. During the summer, Logan and I hold pine cone races on it.

Agreeing to help him make his sail boat. We chose two of the nicest boards and glued them together. After it dried, we drew the shape he wanted. I cut it out with a jig saw and sanded it smooth.

Logan spent a half hour painting it brown. After drilling a hole in the center, I inserted a short dowel rod to hold the sail. Logan chose a piece of blue fabric for his sail, the boat was finished and waiting for spring.

Why are we always amazed when God blesses us with the desires of our hearts? What an incredible lesson for this grandma and her four year old grandson.