When I was a young boy (12 or 13 years old), we were very
poor. It was during the Great Depression
and my father had recently lost his farm.
We had to move into a tiny one-bedroom stone house. My three sisters slept in the kitchen and my
little brother Russell and I slept on a fold-out couch in the living room
during the cold months. But as soon as
it warmed up, he and I slept outside under the cherry tree.
At Christmas time I was just like any other boy my age
wishing to receive something fun like a bicycle. On Christmas morning I woke up and ran in to
see what present was waiting for me. My
parents had spent more on my gift than any of my siblings. But what I received shocked and disappointed
me. While my brothers and sisters opened
the present they had hoped for, I received a chair. Our family needed a chair and my parents worked
very hard and sacrificed to buy that chair and then gave it to me as the oldest
son. I was so disappointed, but I didn’t
say a word. Grandma Ida said later, “His
look of disappointment broke my heart, but he never complained. I told myself that someday I would try to
make it up to him.”
Years later when my oldest daughter, JaNae, was a mother
with teenagers, she asked me if she could have the chair. I remember saying, “Oh, why would you want
that old chair? That just reminds me of
one of the saddest times of my life.”
She explained that she wanted it to remind her children that they should
be very grateful for everything they receive, just like I had to learn to be
about that chair.
I used to keep the chair in storage so I wouldn’t have to
remember that sad Christmas. But now
that chair sits prominently in JaNae’s house as a reminder to everyone who sees
it. When I told this story at JaNae’s family Christmas gathering, I invited everyone to sometime sit in the
chair and think about being grateful for what they have. My youngest namesake, Gordon Earl said, “I
want to sit in it now.” Then other
children followed and then came adults each having their picture taken in the
chair with me.
The cushion has worn out and been removed but the chair
hasn’t changed much beyond that. Today,
even though times are hard and we’re in the middle of a financial recession, we
still live in a land of plenty. Unfortunately,
in times like these, it’s very easy to become selfish and wish we had things we
can’t afford and even become bitter about it.
My Christmas wish for you as my posterity this year is to be grateful
for all you have. For you have a great family
and you have the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
Love,
Grandpa Hansen
