Chatham church knows the best gift

With the Christmas season here, we thought true meanings might be a timely topic.

Now, this column may not be politically correct, but hopefully it’ll be accurate. Christmas isn’t about what it’s become in this country — tinsel and trees, a shopping season that starts in October, too much eating and drinking, and Santa Claus.

It’s about the gift given freely to mankind 2,000 years ago.

Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who, according to tradition, was born Dec. 25 in Bethlehem. Whether or not that date is accurate isn’t important. There’s no way Jesus didn’t exist; too many people saw him and heard his amazing words. The testimony of the Old Testament prophets and his disciples give credence to his life, death and resurrection.

Most importantly Jesus’ message — loving one’s neighbors and enemies, honoring fathers and mothers, being truthful, faithful and kind to one another and trusting in his message — was totally different from any preceding philosophy or belief system. But one of Jesus’ most important messages is captured in one word: giving.

We couldn’t think of a better example of giving than what a church in Chatham County has done the past two Octobers. The sportsmen who are members of Tyson’s Creek Baptist Church epitomize what the season really means; they gave their time, money and efforts for wheelchair-bound sportsmen, arranging two-day deer hunts for people who otherwise never would have such an opportunity.

I was fortunate to be alerted by one of the organizers, Todd Brown, whose wife, Deanna, works for the N.C. Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Tommy Estridge and Keenan Jones also were key players, but there were dozens of helpers, including church members who prepared and served food.

In talking to wheelchair-bound sportsmen, some of whom had been victims of gun violence, they clearly had their visions focused on the future and not the past.

I didn’t talk to all of them, but the ones I did had positive attitudes and appreciated what doctors, hospitals, rehabilitators, families, loved ones and the church’s organizing committee had done for them. That included church-sponsored accommodations — two free lunches, dinner and breakfast. Those who needed rooms got free rooms at Sanford’s Quality Inn.

One of the first things Estridge said was he didn’t beg for help.

“If something needed to be done, somebody was there to do it, and it got done,” he said. “My job actually was pretty easy.”

Other groups exist to help disabled sportsmen, including the N.C. Handicapped Sportsmen, N.C. Disabled Veterans and the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Wheelin’ Sportsmen.

This Christmas season, you might think about giving some time to one of these groups. In the end, you’ll likely receive more than you give.