Again and again lately, I have been reminded of how incredibly blessed we are this Christmas season. The blessings come in so many different packages and I cannot unwrap them all for you today. The greatest blessing of all is that my Savior humbled Himself to become man so He could offer salvation. He experienced the most humble birth. He walked among this world of sin and confusion, touching broken hearts, weeping with the sorrowful, healing the sick, and offering love and hope everywhere. When His time on earth drew to an end, He prayed to His Father,
"I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." John 17:4
There is so much I could say, but it would still not be enough to fully praise Him for who He is and what He has done for me! Even in the whirl of Christmas celebrations, let’s keep Him our central focus. Without Christ, there would be nothing to celebrate.
Maybe I’ll add to these thoughts in the near future, because today I was going to share a story I wrote a year ago. Comparing this year with Christmas 2020 gives me one more reason to feel blessed beyond measure. God had a purpose then, and part of it may have been to increase my appreciation for what I have now.
(I initially submitted this story to be considered for a compilation of stories related to the pandemic and the experiences we as Anabaptists had through it. But due to various reasons, the book’s publication was set on hold, so I’ll share this piece with you. It’s a different view on Christmas than what most people get to see. Many of my life’s experiences take place in our family business.)
And now begins “From An Elephant Teddy”…
Hi! My name is Ellie and I’ll be sharing my view on a little part of the world. As for introduction, I’m just a little teddy elephant perched on the second shelf from the floor in the toy section of Festuca Country Store. I don’t remember coming here because I must have been packed in a box. Stompy is the only other elephant teddy in the entire store. Since I don’t remember another view than what I see from my shelf, I can’t tell you what the rest of the store looks like, but I assume many things by what I hear through eavesdropping.
Changes occur every now and then, such as a shipment of new toys or some things being rearranged. Yet I’ve always stayed in my spot. Of course, customers always vary in personality and enthusiasm. I especially enjoy the children’s eager faces. But that changed this last autumn when they began coming in with masks covering half the face. At first they intimidated me but eventually I adjusted to it. Then something more unusual happened.
One evening, the manager’s family trooped into the room, looking quite grave. For a long time they discussed things which I couldn’t understand. They seemed upset. Tension filled the atmosphere as though something had really gone wrong. Then I caught a few phrases. “…just called and said they are praying for us this evening…” Everyone seemed touched and encouraged.
Someone else spoke up. “Earlier today, a friend mentioned how their thoughts were with us…God takes care of us…”
After a while, someone appeared with a roll of yellow plastic. They draped the tape across our shelf and tied it at both ends. They repeated the process throughout the entire room, covering every shelf that contained toys or gifts. I heard tramping of feet upstairs in the book section. Might they be doing the same thing there? The family worked with urgency. I wondered if they knew it was growing late and they wanted to get their queer project done before the next day. After they left and the lights had been switched off, I stared into the darkness. Yellow stripes glowed around me. How strange. Why? Across the aisle, a paper hung from the tape. If I could have read it, I would have been shocked at the words printed in bold letters.
ACCORDING TO MB HEALTH REGULATIONS, THESE ITEMS ARE DEEMED NON-ESSENTIAL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING DURING THIS TIME.
I had officially become non-essential. The next weeks passed in near chaos. After all, everyone needed to do Christmas shopping. But the tape remained. No one tore it down. Shoppers stood right in front of me and pointed to the doll or teddy they wanted. Then one of the store staff plucked it off the shelf and carried it away while the customer followed. I couldn’t understand it. Why must things be done so awkwardly?
I collected enough words to figure a few things out. Restrictions. Non-essential. Tighter lock-down. Curbside pickup. And on and on. But how should I care? I amused myself by observing different characters. Some people pointed out so many things that the girl helping them had to get a cart to lug it all to the front. Others leaned over the tape, twisted their necks, and complained that they couldn’t see the prices with everything blocked off. Mothers would warn their children, “Don’t touch, don’t touch.”
I noticed the staff and customers had more opportunities to interact with each other this way. In the conversations I overheard, most people had a positive outlook. They often ended with God knows what’s best, hopefully it gets better, or it won’t last forever. Obviously, shopping had become much more complicated, but from what I could see in my corner of the world, life was still moving on.
I cannot forget the day that the family came to spend the evening again. Faces held a similar strain. Again I caught a few phrases. Inspector…tickets…all this is nonessential too….They unrolled more yards of tape and layered it over more items and shelves. I just watched and wondered how long the store might remain open at this rate.
But as the days before Christmas decreased, the toys around me dissolved away. Gaping holes glared from the shelves where colorful toys should have been. Shoppers kept coming. The staff kept scurrying around. I hope they had smiles pasted behind their masks. Some attempts were made to refill shelves, but when one customer came and asked the girl to swipe over half of the store’s puzzle selection off the shelf, the emptiness couldn’t be filled anymore. People were determined to make this a generous Christmas despite the circumstances.
Finally, a few days before Christmas, only a few customers found what they wanted. They had to make do with the leftovers. Stompy and I still sat on our shelf along with a single jump rope (which didn’t belong there anyway) and a few doll bottles. Lots of space remained to collect dust! I knew we looked like an unattractive lot, especially with the yellow tape still dangling in front of my nose. I wondered how the bookstore might be faring. I never heard footsteps upstairs anymore.
Then all became quiet in the store. Besides the hum of coolers in a distant room, peace finally ruled. Holidays had come at last. Hopefully most customers had been satisfied. Hopefully the store staff could recover from their stress.
After New Years’, the place revived as customers trickled back through the doors, but they no longer flooded the store. The desperate, demanding Christmas season had finally calmed to a relaxed atmosphere again. I didn’t meet shoppers in the toy room as often and loneliness threatened to creep into the hauntingly empty room. It should be no surprise that customers didn’t come in here. Hardly anything seemed attractive. I suppose I have never been attractive either.
Days and weeks slipped by as I resigned myself to a monotonous life again. But one evening was all it took to flip the store around. The family arrived for their occasional evening shift. Yet, they didn’t just come. They hopped, flitted, whistled, laughed, and sang. Had I been a real elephant, I would have thought they acted like birds.
Then, lo and behold, someone yanked off a string of tape! For the first time in ten weeks, I watched the yellow string flutter to the floor. I heard cheering upstairs. Self-appointed videographers scurried around blabbering about the fantastic evening they were having as they tore down the ‘yucky yellowness’. Knots came untied, the paper signs were ripped in half, and snakes of slithering tape piled up on the floors. The atmosphere could hardly be compared to the evening a few months ago when they solemnly put all the tape up.
Then someone spied me on the shelf. No more tape hung before my nose. She snatched me up, kissed my ear, and exclaimed, “You’re free, Ellie!” With one dramatic flourish, she plopped me back in my place. She didn’t notice that in her haste she had bumped me and I tipped over on my side. Free? I suppose.
They took more pictures of each other wearing scarves made from the heaps of tape and holding an edited paper sign. It now read:
ACCORDING TO MB HEALTH REGULATIONS THESE ITEMS ARE NOW DEEMED ESSENTIAL!!!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING DURING THIS TIME.
During the next weeks, the staff didn’t appear as frequently in our room. Customers wandered from shelf to shelf, selecting their own items and taking them to the checkout counter. I heard the tread of feet upstairs as well. Besides the masks and empty shelves, my life had returned back to normal. Soon even the empty shelves were restocked with loads of new toys, games, puzzles, and more. The staff hauled carts and carts of items into the room, not out. In order to make room for dishes and tea sets, Stompy and I were relocated to join a basket full of new teddies on the floor. Although we had more companions now, all I could see was the fuzzy bear on top of me. How long would such a view have to be endured?
Finally the day came that I left Festuca Country Store. Someone took Stompy and me out of the basket and placed us in their cart. As the cart wound through the aisles of the grocery section, I finally caught some glimpses of the store I had been a part of for so long. As the customer carried me out the door in a plastic bag, I recalled my adventures of the past year and wondered how many more might be awaiting me. Now whenever people talk about the lockdown of Christmas 2020 or about the time of nonessentials and curbside pickup, I can raise my trunk in agreement. The hopeful words I heard during those chaotic weeks did come to pass in time. It didn’t stay forever. God was faithful. I am an eye-witness, even though I’m just Ellie, an elephant teddy.
2021 Ending: And now the day has come that I visit Festuca Country Store again, a year later and a week before Christmas. I sit near the front counter, and observe with wondering eyes the calm and contented customers, full carts, cheerful and relaxed staff, candles and lamps glowing among well-filled displays of chocolates, books, puzzles, clocks, tractors, and more. “Silent Night” plays softly from a corner. There is not a strip of yellow tape in sight. The phone rings occasionally, but rarely is it a request for curbside pick-up. Nobody is keeping track of the amount of customers in the store.
No, it is not the day before Christmas yet. A girl tells me that things may become so hectic then that I will fall off my shelf. Shelves may be cleared off again by the time 2022 rolls around. So let it be! Life always has adventures waiting for those who live it with zest, right?
If the girl would have a chance to reminisce with me on a year ago, I know what she would say. The words would overflow from her heart. “God knows what’s best, Ellie. He has poured abundant blessings on us. He is always good! And the best part of this Christmas season is remembering the Greatest Gift. In a world where sin has blinded the eyes of millions, my eyes have been opened by the glorious light of Jesus’ love! He came to earth because He wanted to set me free from my sins. That changes everything for me. I have peace that passes understanding, no matter how confusing or hectic life seems. There is peace even in undesirable circumstances like last year. Besides, there’s more to Christmas than shopping for presents and having parties. It’s about what Jesus has done! The world deserves to know. Let’s tell them, Ellie! Merry Christmas!”
Inspired to Inspire 