Christmas 2007

CHRISTMAS TIME DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION!
          by Ken Sumrall

This year will make 81 Christmases I have celebrated. It will be Wanda’s 80th celebration of the birth of Christ. She was raised in Georgiana, Alabama and had similar experiences of growing up during the great depression.

I was born on Christmas Eve in 1926. Grandpa Sumrall had given my father 40 acres of land west of Ellisville in Jones County Mississippi. It was there I came into the world as the second child of eight children. In those days, the more children a family had the better since most of the people of this nation were farmers and children could help with the crops and the livestock. This proved to be a blessing during the depression years which began in 1929 and continued until World War II.  We could always grow our own food. Even the feed bought for cattle had more uses as the sacks were made of pretty colored prints and were used to make dresses and shirts for the family. Mother usually went with Daddy to buy feed so she could pick out the colors of the sacks she could use for the family clothing.  She cut out the cloth by patterns and sewed them together on her old singer sewing machine which was powered by her foot on a pedal connected to the machine.  If we had any pride, it was conquered by seeing other families with clothes made out of the same colored sacks. We thanked God for enough food to eat and adequate clothes to wear. Many in our nation did not have those necessities. Hundreds of thousands stood in lines at Gospel Mission stations to get enough to feed their families on Christmas day.

At Christmas time we did not expect much. Each child had his own Christmas sock which was hung on the mantle piece. All of our gifts were homemade except for an orange and a couple of pieces of stick candy that “Santa Claus” placed into our socks. By the time we were in the first grade someone told us the secret: “There is no Santa Claus. He’s your daddy. If you tell your parents, you will get no more gifts for Christmas.” You can believe we kept quiet about it.  

We had no electricity until I was about eight years old and the government strung electric lines through our community.

We opened our gifts before the fire place, burning up on one side of our bodies and freezing on the other side and getting our light from a kerosene lamp. When company came we would use a special lamp called “the aladdin lamp.” It was too costly to wear out with every day use.

Everybody in our community belonged to the Baptist Church except for a few who were said to be gospel-hardened. We never heard anyone say “Happy Holidays.” All exclaimed loudly and unashamedly “Merry Christmas!” The first songs I remember singing were: “Away in the Manger” and “Silent Night” at the Pine Grove Baptist Church.   

We always had a Christmas Tree, a simple pine sapling we decorated with pine cones and colored paper. We thought it was beautiful. Sometimes the “grammar school” would have a Christmas play with community children as the actors. Everybody in the community came. Another big event would be going to our grandparents on both sides of the family, all who lived no more than six miles away. Of course they always told us how we had grown and offered us homemade cookies. Those were happy times for us children.

So why should we fret as to whether we should say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.” Let’s just be grateful for what we have and love those who are prisoners to materialism. After all every thing we possess will be burned like the California homes that recently perished in flames. Let us fill our communities with the Wonderful Love of Jesus and magnify Him.   

Try singing the following words to the tune of Silent Night.

            Wonderful love; wonderful love; coming to me
from Heaven above;
Filling me thrilling me through and through
Making me willing His service to do;
Oh, it is wonderful love; oh, it is wonderful love.

 Our Heritage

Doug and Janice Bush, both graduates of Liberty Bible College, serve the Lord directing an orphanage in China. They met and married while students at LBC. They keep me updated on their activities which include helping families adopt Chinese children. We recently exchanged letters. They, along with hundreds of other ministry couples, are the heritage Wanda and I have been given.

Dear Doug and Janice, How I admire your diligence in helping the orphans. I read the Scriptures on your blog and was moved with compassion for the helpless and poor in China. May God grant you His best, and He will! Blessings and love, Bro Ken

Dear Bro. Ken, How good it is to know you are still there, and in some way watching over our shoulders.  We are so grateful for our heritage as your son and daughter in the Lord and for our time sitting under your ministry – nothing else has so defined who we are, and no other man of God has ever had the place in our hearts that you have. Wish I could show you around this country and introduce you to the people.  I think you would like the common people here, and of course, the children.   Please give our best to Sister Wanda, Much love, Doug and Janice.

Wanda and me 60 years ago.  We are grateful for your cards, letters and gifts for our anniversary. Thanks for loving and praying for us.

Note: My newest book Forgive and Move On, A Case for Unconditional Forgiveness should be ready shortly. It has been edited and now in the process of being published. The price has been set by the publishers at $14.95 per copy. Copies for our friends who order within three months will be $11.95 each plus postage. You may order online and pay with your credit cards. (Look for the book on kensumrallministries.com and put it in the shopping cart provided. For ten or more copies the price will be $10.95 each plus postage. The book will make a great present.

Happy New Year! In a few weeks 2007 will be history. God has blessed the Sumrall family bountifully during this year.

I have enjoyed preaching several times during the year. My voice still comes and goes, but there is one more avenue I am trying before I give up on my voice box and invest my time writing rather than preaching. A new procedure called plicator is used to sew the bottom of the esophagus to prevent backup of acid. It is an out-patient operation and takes about twenty minutes. To prepare for the procedure requires several tests and three trips to Emory Clinic in Atlanta. Rick Curry is driving me to Atlanta for the next test before the operation.

CHILDREN’S QUOTES

LOT ‘S WIFE
The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot ‘s wife  looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, “My Mummy looked back once, while she was  driving,” he announced triumphantly, “and she turned into a  telephone pole!”

THAT’S WHY I BELIEVE IN GOD
If you don’t believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can’t go everywhere with you-- like to camp--but God can. It is good to know He’s around you when you’re scared, in the dark or when you can’t swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.” ”But...you shouldn’t just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And...that’s why I believe in God.”