“Whatever happens, keep thanking God for His Son, Jesus Christ.” - - 1 Thessalonians 5:18
One wintery December night in 1937, a small child climbed onto her daddy’s lap; her dark brown eyes beckoned him into her youthful soul. She asked a simple yet heart-rending question. "Daddy," four-year-old Barbie asked, "Why’s my Mommy different from everybody else's?"
Bob May stole a glance across his paltry apartment. On the couch lay his bedridden wife Evelyn, dying from cancer. Bob knew all too well what it meant to be "different." As a child, he’d always been taunted by other kids because of his small stature. Drawing from his “outcast” experiences, Bob imagined a mythical character with similar problems that eventually overcome his struggles. He cradled his little girl's head against his shoulder and began telling this story.
Barbie interrupted excitedly, “Let’s call him Rudolf, daddy!”
“Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,” Bob paused for effect as Barbie smiled a toothy grin, “wasn’t ashamed of his nose. Others laughed at him; even his family was humiliated. Rudolph had few friends. But Rudolph was delightfully optimistic and never let his deformity hold him back.”
"Rudolph's big moment,” Bob continued, “Came when Santa landed his sleigh in Rudolph's neighborhood. By the time Santa finished his deliveries, a thick fog had rolled in making it impossible for them to take off safely. Santa was horrified at the thought of disappointing children all over the world.
Suddenly Rudolph appeared, his red nose glowing brighter than ever. An answer to Santa’s prayers; he immediately asked Rudolf to lead his sleigh. Through rain and fog, snow and sleet; nothing bothered Rudolph that fateful night. His bright nose pierced the mist like a beacon.
The huge red nose became the envy of everybody in the reindeer world. From that Christmas on, Rudolph was the most beloved reindeer of all."
Barbie giggled with joy when Bob finished. Every night she begged him to repeat the story. He decided to turn the fairy-tale into an illustrated poem in book form as Barbie’s Christmas gift. Tirelessly he worked . . . until tragedy struck. Evelyn died.
Undeterred, he toiled at the desk in his now lonely apartment, and completed "Rudolph" amid mournful tears.
Bob’s employer loved the story and in 1939, copies were reprinted on newspaper stock and distributed by Montgomery Ward Santas to 2.4 million children that first year. Even though Bob authored an immensely popular work, he didn’t profit from it until 1947 when he obtained the legal copyright.
Today, Rudolph lives on - adding joy to the lives of new generations of children just as it comforted his young daughter during that difficult yuletide long ago.
Jesus, life’s pressures don’t lead to self pity – how we handle them does. Inspire my thinking, decisions and instincts so that like Your self-less example, I may be of greatest service to You today. Amen
