Tennessee Jed: Christmas Blessing

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Christmas Blessing

I was counting my beans for Christmas after payday and let me tell you the numbers were looking ugly. The Dolly Parton song "Hard Candy Christmas" was ringing in my head when I got a call. The fellas who helped me get out of my house without a foreclosure said they were in town and wanted to stop over for a visit.

Back when the deal was going down they had said if they cleared any monies they would gift me some back if any was left over. After the deal had went down and we moved to a rental house I never heard a thing from them and had assumed there was nothing left for me. I felt a little raw about it, and I thought about calling several times to ask, but curbed the urge in my feeling of loss. I used the Jed proven method of forgiveness saying, "Well iffin they screwed me then it is their sin and not mine, and if I curse them it will only make matters worse".

To my surprise they had Jed a couple hundred dollars in a Christmas card saying it had been on their hearts all year and now seemed like the perfect time to pass me a gift. I told them I had figured they must have lost their shirt like I do in most deals, and had forgot about me like a bad dream. They laughed and said no one who ever met Jed would forget him soon, and Merry Christmas.

I am feeling very redeemed as a father now with my oldest Daughter living with me. We have not lived together for most of seven years and I have been feeling like less of a man for it. I hurts a man to have his kids yanked away, no matter what the court says about dads being the lesser parent. I never felt like the lesser parent, perhaps a lesser man for not having the money to fight a court battle. I have applied the same "sin ain't on me" way to it to cope, but it ain't been easy.

I am feeling blessed this season, but there is a bit of bitter in the sweet. I found out my bastard twenty two year old son (in the very classical way, whom I first met when he was fifteen and have been trying to my best to help) has got himself a three year term in prison. I have been warning him to change his ways on every conversation to no avail. I hope he don't end up with an even bigger network of thug friends after this, but if he is like most men who start the prison career it ain't likely. God be with him because no one else can.

The time is now to focus on his little three year old son (my grandson) to not make matters worse.

Merry Christmas from Jed's house

to you and yours!

:: posted by Tennessee Jed, 12:12 AM