Today and tomorrow, I’ll be sharing posts about children’s Christmas picture books. With my children now adults and teens, you may be wondering why I would focus on these stories for younger children. They are both “Tear Jerkers” for me because the beauty of the story touches my heart, and because it reminds me of the not-too-distant past when my children loved these stories. Perhaps you have children or grandchildren in your life who would love someone to sit and read a quality story with amazing pictures to them. Or perhaps the child within you longs for the simplicity and wonder of childhood. Whatever the reason, I invite you to open your heart and listen for the messages the Spirit of the Lord might speak through these books.
I’m not sure exactly how I first came across Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story—it was likely recommended on a list of books for reading aloud to children. After borrowing it from the library year after year, I eventually decided to buy my own copy. The author, Cynthia Rylant, has written several books that portray Appalachian communities with a gentle, dignified touch, highlighting the love and resilience within these communities. The heartwarming story in Silver Packages, paired with the stunning illustrations by Chris K. Soentpiet, makes it a book that’s easy to enjoy again and again.
The book starts, “A train comes through Appalachia every year at Christmas time. And though it doesn’t have antlers, nor does the man standing on its rear platform have a long white beard, it may as well be Santa Claus and his sleigh for all the excitement it stirs up. People call it the Christmas Train. And it has been coming to them for years. Each new child born in the mountains learns to walk, talk, and wait for the Christmas Train. It is everyone’s delight.”
The book isn’t centered on the Christmas Train as much as it is on the story of Frankie—a boy who waits each year for his silver package thrown from the back of the train. Each year, he hopes for a doctor’s kit but never receives it. Instead, he gets other toys he plays with and practical things like gloves, warm socks, a hat, etc. When he grows up, he leaves the community, and “he changes a little into a different kind of person.”
“But deep in him, never changing, are his memories. And what he remembers most about being a boy in the hills is that just when it seemed his feet would freeze like the snow, a man on a train had brought socks. Just when it seemed his fingers were hardening to ice, the man had brought mittens. Just when the cold wind was cutting sharp as a blade into his throat, the man had brought a scarf. And just when Frankie’s ears were numb with red cold, the man had brought a hat. And Frankie remembers something about owing a debt.”
So, why am I talking about a seemingly secular book in a faith-based post? Simply because I believe God’s Truth and Beauty are in this book, along with some powerful messages.
Each year, the people of that community waited expectantly and hoped for a visit from the Christmas Train. Have you ever waited for something? Hoped for something? Believed it will be here… eventually?? I don’t mean the kind of package you ordered online where you can track its every move. I mean the kinds of things that (generally) mean much more: for healing, for financial provision, for a spouse, for a family member to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Sometimes these things take days, and sometimes they take decades. Either way, we wait. And unlike the community in the book, we don’t know when that promised “train” will be arriving.
That’s where trust comes in. Do you trust that package you ordered online to arrive? Of course. But do you trust the God of the Universe to work things out for your good (Romans 8:28)? Do you trust that God has good intentions for you (Jeremiah 29:11)? Do you trust that God will keep His promises (Joshua 21:45)? If you’re like me, it may be easier said than done to truly and fully say, “YES, I trust You, God!!” This may be a growing edge, as we continue to “work out [our] salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]” (Philippians 2:12 AMP). Hopefully, though, we are each growing in our ability to trust God for our needs and wants—and for those of the people around us.
The other big theme I see in this book is how the members of this community received these gifts with graciousness and how the giving nature of the Christmas Train impacted Frankie. In time, he grew up, left home, and became a doctor practicing in a city. But he remembered the people who were still in the hills. He remembered receiving toys, gloves, socks, and other things he needed, and he wanted to repay his debt by giving to the people. (Spoiler alert:) So, he moves back home to help care for others in that community.
In our Christian society, we’re often reminded how we are supposed to give to others—through gifts, missions, charities, etc. Indeed, Jesus tells us, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; I needed clothes, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you looked after me; I was in prison, and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:35-36 NIV). Whatever we do for those in need, we also, by extension, do for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is right and good to extend tangible (and intangible!) love and care to those in need. No one less than the Apostle Paul reminded us that, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35 NIV)
Giving is important, but so is receiving. Mary and Joseph received the angel’s messages about the baby she was to carry. The woman with an issue of blood and the man born blind received healing. The Apostle Paul received his salvation. In our world, it’s easy to find people who “take,” but to be able to “receive” a gift given graciously and generously is also important. At Christmas, we are reminded that God offers His gifts of love, grace, and mercy to us with an invitation—to receive them graciously. The people of Frankie’s community received the silver packages from a generous man who offered them. We, God’s people, can receive gifts from an unchanging, generous God who gives good gifts to us, His children.
Today, I invite you to hold tightly to hope as you wait for and trust God to move in your circumstances. I invite you to not neglect to give generously to others, but also to stop and receive what God offers you this season—salvation, provision, healing, grace, hope, peace, joy, love, and so much more.
May it be so, in Jesus’s name.
Amen and amen.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
“Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” (Joshua 21:45 NIV)
“Your promise has been tested through and through, and I, your servant, love it dearly.” (Psalm 119:140 MSG)
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 NIV)
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)
[Adapted from a 12-14-22 post.]