27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

Christmas time is a time of fun family traditions from baking Christmas cookies to decorating both the outdoor and indoor with colorful Christmas lights. It is a time for creating new memories that last a lifetime and are often warmly remembered when our loved ones are no longer in our lives. One such memory was the long-held tradition of my family traveling to Engelbretson's. 

My wife and took a drive over to Engelbretson’s on East lake street, in the area of businesses destroyed in the 2020 George Floyd riots where out of state anarchists with no knowledge of the cultural aspects of our city randomly looted, burned, and in some cases destroyed the livelihoods of small business owners.

 We found a parking spot next to the Salvation Army building which I presume was a homeless shelter and food shelve. 

We watched a disheveled older gentleman with 2 plastic bags of food, wearing an unbuttoned coat with open-ended flip flop shoes with the back open to the elements. As I watched this man gingerly trying to cross the street I looked at the contrast of nicely dressed folks standing in line to purchase the assortment of Christmas jams, Swedish sausages, lutefisk, as well as last-minute gifts for their Scandinavian friends. 

As I thought about the old man in flip-flops I also thought about the wealthy shoppers at the mall of America looking for the latest name brands. While most of us are trying to thrive in the business world, the man in the flip-flop shoes was simply trying to survive. 

Unless we take our blinders off we will never see the men, women, and children looking disheveled and hungry from the lack of food they couldn't afford.

 Then my mind went to the image of Joseph and Mary giving birth in the outdoors and laying their newborn baby Jesus in the manger while witnessing the angels, shepherds, and wise men bringing gifts to the future king. 

Alas, Jesus was born and he came to serve people like the man in the flip flop shoes just trying to survive.  

Regardless of your worldview, Jesus loves you more than you could ever know! All it takes to experience a new everlasting and vibrant life with a spirit of renewed hope is to simply invite Jesus into your heart. I did this in 1974 and have no regrets for the decision I made. 

The man in the flip-flops received his bag of food from the Salvation Army because men and women of God were led to minister there. You just may discover through a new life in Christ a new purpose to serve others in need.