Waving a White Flag

I decided to take “The Coastal” train to my destination near San Francisco. It’s a beautiful trip up along the coast of California. A soldier sitting across the aisle was on his way back to his barracks near Monterey. He seemed rather anxious, and I decided to speak to him. I introduced myself and that I was a counselor. I then said to him, "Looks like something's bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?"

The young man quickly turned and said, "Yes!" He explained that he used to live on a farm that the train would soon pass. A few years ago, he had a terrible quarrel with his father, which ended with him vowing never to return home again.

He said, "I've been gone now for three years. I drop a note every once in a while to my mom, but I haven't been back. I really want to go back home, so before leaving for this trip, I wrote a letter to my mom telling her, "'I'll be coming by on the train, and it'll stop at the station for a brief moment. Talk to Dad, and if he doesn’t mind me stopping by, then just hang something white out in front of the house that I can see as the train passes by, and I'll get off the train. But, if it isn't okay with Dad, and I don't see anything white hanging out in front of the house, I'll understand and keep going.'"

The soldier then said, "Sir, we're almost there. It's just around the next curve, and I'm afraid to look. Would you look for me?"

I peered out the window as the train turned the corner and then gently urged the soldier to look out the window to see what I had just seen. In fact, everyone in the train car began to look. The farmhouse could not be seen by anyone! The soldier’s father and mother had taped and tied down everything white they had: White bed sheets, white bedspreads, white tablecloths, white towels. They had completely covered the entire house! And two white bed sheets were flying from the flag pole!

The last time I saw that soldier, he was running across the meadow and to home. 

This is a Christmas story. The gift of forgiveness and reconciliation is draped all over the stable. And there is surely someone you may know who is hoping that you will be bringing out your best white linens this Christmas.