George

George - I don't know his last name, however I know him also by the names of Jackson's grandpa and Santa Claus. He is a member of our church. He generates a sweet spirit.

A couple of years ago on Christmas Eve, he was at the same candle light service as we were. Since Emily had been acting up earlier in the day, I asked Hartford to see if he could make it though the crowd and get him to come speak to Emily. As Emily and I were waiting in the corner, Emily spotted George walking next to Hartford and was thrilled that Santa was nearby. He had a red sport jacket that made it all the more real.

He was so sweet with Emily. He got down on her level and talked with her. She was all smiles and boy oh, she was extremely well behaved for a few days.

Last year was the first year that Emily was old enough to attend Bible school. She loved it. One day she was extra thrilled because Santa was on vacation and worked at Bible school that day. She talked a lot about his visit and all the wonderful things that he had said to the children.

Needless to say George is a blessing.

Currently, George is fighting a battle with cancer. He has lost his hair as well as his beard. Of course, he still generates a sweet spirit.

Yesterday during the service the preacher was celebrating George and said the following:

You have three stages in life -
one, you believe in Santa,
two, you get to be Santa, and
three if you are lucky, you get to look like Santa.

I was sitting close enough to him and saw him wipe a tear from his eye. He hopes that one day that he will look like Santa again.

I hope and pray that he wins over cancer and he will look like Santa very soon. He will always be Santa inside.