An Unappreciated Gift
Russell Dilday
I was 9 in 1974 and ran around Navasota, Texas, like a feral child with my brother Doug, John “Pooh” Pool, and Jeffrey and Joe Fultz. We grew up like a lot of other kids in the 70s. We had no cell phones, little supervision, and a lot of time outdoors. The only times we recognized were “daylight”—when we started playing—and “dark”—when we went home for supper.
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Sometime that fall, the conversation between the five of us leaned toward Christmas gifts. A series of ads had appeared on the back pages of our comic books – ads for the Aurora Ready Ranger Mobile Field Pack. We all agreed we had to have these for our adventures.
As advertised, it was a hard plastic backpack that unfolded to reveal a world of gadgets mandatory for any young adventurer. Bright blue and orange, its square outline looked like something an astronaut would wear. Along with its high-tech look, it promised a bullhorn, periscope, compass, star chart, and flashlight.
We pestered our parents for weeks. This was the must-have gift for our team.
As our moms often did, they compared notes, then the three of them loaded up into Diana Fultz’s avocado-green-with-wood-paneling station wagon and headed to Houston. By some miracle, they found the last five packs in stock at a toy store there. After 200 miles, the mission was accomplished!
On Christmas Day, Doug and I ripped open our packages to reveal the best Christmas gift ever.
Or so we thought—until we discovered that Aurora was a plastics company known for its models and lots of assembly was required. The bullhorn was a plastic tube, and Doug’s flashlight never worked. The compasses weren’t magnetic, and the electronic-looking gadgets were all cardboard.
And everything broke.
Poor Pooh was riding his bicycle over that morning to show off his new pack when his shoulder strap broke, and the entire Aurora Ready Ranger Mobile Field Pack became so mobile it achieved aerodynamic lift and shattered in a thousand pieces on the street. A sympathetic neighbor saw the tragedy and helped him put it in a plastic sack.
Later, when my mom asked our opinions of the gifts, I blurted out in flawless Spanish, “El cheapo!” I instantly regretted it when I saw her dejected look. I regretted it even more when Dad saw her dejected face and pulled me aside to lecture me on the trouble Mom had gone through to find this very desired gift.
In a world that excels in offering substandard gifts that don’t bring us joy, it isn’t surprising we often don’t appreciate the gifts we are given. In the noise the world creates during this season, don’t make the mistake of overlooking and under-appreciating the joy of the gift that is our Savior, Jesus.
This Advent season, appreciate the gift that is Jesus. Joyfully expect his return. Act to share that joy with others.
If you feel called to act and share your joy in the Houston area this season, you can:
Sponsor an entire family’s wish list (children + adults, around $50 a person)
Organize a toy drive at your company/organization/church to support the Christmas market
Volunteer your time at events
To find out how, visit Buckner’s Christmas volunteer page.
Russell Dilday is vice president of creative services at Buckner International.