And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:40 NLT

This morning as I was planning this year’s nursing home Christmas outreach, I remembered how long ago a group of our 7-8-year-old Sunday School children came to sing carols. Their sweet voices as they sang in the dining room was amazing. They sang every song that we could think of, from Away in a Manger to Jingle Bells. The residents loved it and as we finished, the parents crowded in, snapping photos of their dear ones. Maybe the best part was the cookies made by one of the teenage girls. No one cared that they were just a shade overbaked, and as they passed them out the younger children tagged behind handing out Christmas cards and introducing themselves.

Just as our program was winding down, I remembered that, with no extra staff available to help, the residents of the respiratory unit on the second floor had been unable to come. So, I rounded up a small troupe of kids along with two parents and their Sunday School teacher, and then we headed to the elevator. The respiratory ward was populated with some of the youngest of those in the facility. Some had been in a car accident, others a stroke and one or two in the late stages of multiple sclerosis. After bringing our little flock to sing a couple of carols for a few people who I had met before, we headed down the hall. Suddenly, I heard a stranger’s voice calling. “Oh, if you have time, can they please come sing for David?”

“Absolutely!” I said, hoping that their parents didn’t mind that it was getting late. As we started into the room we saw there was a young man, lying in bed, with a breathing tube hooked up to his trach, and sitting nearby was his mother. The children timidly filed in around his bed and then with a little help from my guitar, started to sing. I don’t remember all the songs, but I vividly recall everyone’s tears flowing as the children finished the evening by singing Silent Night.

As they sang, sleep in heavenly peace” the sense of God’s peace was so amazing, that I was reminded of the first Christmas. On that night another child lay helpless, and he shivered, until Mary wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in the hay. Only at Allied Skilled Nursing, there were no wise men with gold, frankincense and myrrh. Instead, our children left a Christmas gift of hope, and their little smiles and timid waves as they said their good-byes reminded us that, no matter where we are, God remembers. And this Christmas, Jesus still waits for both wise men, and children to come and worship on their Silent Nights as well as in the middle of their busy days. I never told our children, but their newly made friend David lived only a few more weeks, and the gift they gave had been far more precious than they could have ever known!