The Christmas Pin Society
by
Copyright © 2006
Chapter Four
The next morning, after breakfast, I called Kathy. I shared with her my feelings from the day before. She confided that she, too, had been having nostalgic moments all week, but was hesitant to bring it up to anyone. "Do you think it's possible to bring us all together again?" Kathy asked. "Why not!" I exclaimed. "If we've been thinking about it, surely the others have been, too." "But it’s such short notice," she replied, "No one's expecting it." "Oh, Kathy, we're not getting together just for our sakes," I answered. "There's a greater purpose for our reunion. This year we have one more addition to our Christmas Pin Society, and with His help, I believe the time we do have will be sufficient to prepare the greatest gift ever given at our luncheons."
I proceeded to tell her about Billy Harris, a little boy from a neighboring town, who had been recently diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect. Without an operation to repair the hole in his heart, Billy might not live another year. The costly procedure was overwhelming for Billy's parents, and prayer led them to reach out to their neighbors for help. The family's health insurance was nominal; enough to cover doctor's appointments and medication for the average illness, but not enough to handle a cost of this magnitude. So, as God is often known to do, he placed something in my heart. Over the past twenty-two years the five of us collectively had accumulated at least one hundred or more pins. Auctioning them at a community luncheon might give us the opportunity to raise a substantial amount of money towards Billy's operation.
Kathy bubbled with inspiration. I knew she would. However, her joyful utterances were soon silenced by certain misgivings. "What about Angel and Hannah?" she asked. "They've avoided large get-togethers for a long time. Do you think they'll do it?" She was right. It had been two years since our last traditional luncheon, but it seemed longer. Kathy and I had long given up trying to get all of us together at the same time. I thought for a moment. "Kathy," I answered, "they have always been there for a real need. I know they will do this. You call Belinda, and I'll speak with Angel and Hannah."
My beautiful friends were never found want for possessing the necessary grace which enabled them to give freely to others. But the miseries and fears in their own lives led them to fall asleep into self-absorption. Perhaps it was time to awaken; to shake the sleep from our eyes in order to see more clearly and farther out into the world around us. Was I being presumptuous to muse that perhaps Jesus, in his infinite wisdom and love, would heal the holes in many hearts this Christmas? I could only hope.
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