Tommy Gheesling

By Cheryl Norwood

I work at the downtown church in our small town. A young man named Tommy Gheesling wanders in from time to time. I do not know the nature of his disability, whether brain damage from an accident or a stroke, but he struggles to talk and walk. Yet he is always doing something for someone else. This Christmas both myself and our receptionist were a little overwhelmed both at work (we just got a new pastor, plus Christmas time at a Church means a lot of extra work for the staff) and at home (she has three teenagers!). It was getting harder and harder to keep focused on the real meaning of Christmas. Well, Tommy got us back on track. There is a group home for retarded men in our town, and Tommy found out that no one does anything special for them at Christmas. He took it upon himself to make sure they got a splendid Christmas. How? He personally went door to door to every business in our town and got donations for these men. Tommy, with his faltering gait and struggle to speak, spent days on end putting together the best Christmas these young men could imagine. This sacrificial, Christ-like love for his fellow man restored to us a new vision of what Christmas really and truly is all about, and I hope this encourages everyone to remember that it truly is all about giving, not expensive gifts but gifts of yourself. God bless you, Tommy! 

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