“Little Boy Lost”
One of the many things I’ve always loved about Christmas is all the beautiful decorations. My favorites are the angels. But, why is that angels are so closely related to Christmas? Simple. They were there at that first Christmas. They sang hymns of praise and invited guests to come and witness the wonderful miracle of the Christ child.
But what about today? Do we still believe in angels? Do we believe they’re still doing God’s work here on earth? Well, interestingly enough, in a recent survey 79% of all Americans surveyed said they believe that angels are still active here on earth today. But more amazing is that 75% said they believe they’d had an actual first-hand encounter with an angel. It could very well be. In the Bible, many people had encounters with angels and never even knew it. And me? Well, I have my own angel story which I believe could very well have been my own close encounter with a Christmas angel.
The year was 1957; I was 8 years old – The perfect age for a young boy to be caught up in all the magic and wonder of Christmas. We were downtown that day, my mom, my brother, and me. And the streets were literally filled with the Christmas spirit. There were lights and decorations, bells ringing, people singing. And the streets and stores in my big city were filled with shoppers. Back then there were no indoor malls, so we walked the cold streets from store to store, stepping into those stores my mother wanted to shop in. And me? I just marveled at all the wonder. With each new window display we passed I would stop and just stare with my mom saying, “Come on Jerry, come on.”
Well, on such a glorious day, it was too bad that one little boy, so caught up in all the excitement of Christmas, became lost in that Christmas crowd. I don’t know exactly how it happened. All I remember is one minute my mom was there and the next minute she was gone. I immediately thought they’d just walked ahead so I quickly moved through the crowd to find them, but they weren’t there. In a moment’s time I went from being one very happy little boy to being very scared. As I stood there looking up at all the strange faces, suddenly it struck me like a rock – I was lost, lost! As I fought to keep my tears from showing, finally, it was no use and tears began to stream down my little face.
Then, from out of nowhere I heard this voice. “Well, little fella, what’s got you so upset?” I looked up. It was a man in a uniform – a policeman. He said, “Son, are you lost?”
” Yes” …” I can’t find my mom”.
He placed his big hand on my shoulder as he knelt down in that crowd of people. His face looked nice, kind. It made me feel a little better. He began to question me where my mom might be. I didn’t know.
He said, “Let’s try in here” as he held my hand and took me inside the nearest department store.
“Do you see her anywhere?”
I stretched my neck, stood on my tip toes to see as far as I could into the store. Hoping I’d see her, but I didn’t.
“She’s not here”.
“That’s ok, “he said, “Let’s try over here”.
We made our way over to the main office of the store where the policeman began to explain to a lady how I was lost. As they talked, I looked, hoping to see my mom or my brother; but I didn’t.
After some discussion, the policeman came to me, knelt down and told me the store lady was going to announce over the loud speaker that I was lost and that my mom would surely hear and come. Then he had to go.
As the policeman walked out of the store, I remember wishing that he could stay, then he was gone. Over what seemed like a very long time, the store lady continued to announce that a little 8-year-old boy named Jerry was lost. As time passed, I began to have this feeling that they would never find me. Each time that office door opened, I stood up in hopes that my mom would be there. But she wasn’t. The announcing continued.
Then the door opened and it was – my dad, my dad. I ran over to him and held him really tight. I was found! After a few minutes, finally, I stopped crying. He talked to the store lady then we left.
As we walked out of the store, I explained what had happened and that it sure was lucky my mom had sent him to that store.
“But”, he said, “Your mom didn’t send me. I didn’t even know you were lost. I was going to meet you all at another store; I was on my way there. But, for some reason, I decided to stop in this store first to maybe do a little shopping. At first when I heard the announcement didn’t believe it could be you – you were with your mom. But then,” he said, “I thought I’d best check, and here you are”.
As we stepped out into the street, I explained to him how the nice policeman had come to me and taken such good care. On the streets, both my dad and I looked for the policeman, but he wasn’t there. I was disappointed. I wanted my dad to meet him, and my dad wanted to thank him, but he wasn’t there, he was gone.
When we met up with my mom and brother, she was frantic. She hugged me up so tight I could hardly breathe – it felt good. Then she gave me a long lecture and, interestingly enough, I didn’t mind. It felt good to hear her voice.
Then, I explained the story of the policeman again, but we never ever saw him. The rest of that day I stuck close to my mom, very close. But later I wondered. How did the policeman see me in that big crowd of people? How did he know just which store to take me to? And, most of all, what caused my dad to go into that store? I think we all know, don’t we?
Yes, angels are still around and are still doing the work of God, even today.
