Growing up, my sister and I attended a small, rural school in west Texas where my mother taught 5th grade. My mom describes this school as being sharply divided between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”
One year, my mom had a student in her class named Shyla. Shyla was one of six children in her family, and through a telephone conference my mom learned there wouldn’t be any presents under their Christmas tree that year.
My mom had a positive reinforcement system in her classroom where students were awarded tickets for turning in their homework on time and exhibiting good behavior. Students could cash in their tickets on Fridays for small trinkets, or they could save them until the end of the semester, when my mom held an auction of larger prizes.
When my mom learned that Shyla’s parents wouldn’t be able to afford Christmas presents for their children, she and her team teacher contacted a nearby Target for help. The manager offered to pass her discount along to my mom and the other teacher, and with Shyla’s parents’ permission, they purchased a few presents for each of the six children. My sister and I got to help out with wrapping these gifts, and I distinctly remember my mom instructing us to write “from Santa” on the gift tag, so that the children would never know who the presents actually came from.
The last day of school before Christmas break was full of excitement. That morning, many students brought my mom Christmas gifts they’d picked out for her. They had a class party before lunch, and while the students went to recess, my mom and her team teacher drove out to Shyla’s house to deliver the anonymous gifts. In the afternoon, the real fun began: the much-anticipated ticket auction! This particular year, the grand prize was a complete set of The Boxcar Children books. My mom secretly hoped that Shyla would be the winning bidder of this prize, knowing how much she loved that series.
As most auctions go, this one started out with smaller prizes and worked its way up to the few big ones. Shyla held her tickets close and patiently waited until it was time to bid on the set of books. “SOLD!” She was the winner!
As the school day ended and students headed home, my mom looked up from her desk to see Shyla standing there, holding the set of books. “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Boswell,” Shyla said as she placed the books on my mom’s desk.
That year, Shyla gave us such a clear picture of what it looks like to freely give, even when you don’t expect to receive.
Morgan Jones, Director of Small Group Ministry
