When I was in seminary, in 1953, and out in Maryland, and just newly married, Eileen and I were traveling back to Iowa for a Christmas break.

I was driving our 1940 Pontiac and the windshield wipers were not working very good. So in Marion, Ohio, I stopped and got out of the car. At that point, our dog, Ginger decided she wanted her freedom, or a potty break and so she jumped out of the car.

Well, I got back into the car, after fixing the windshield wipers and off we headed for dear old Iowa. We didn’t drive very far when we discovered our dear little dog, Ginger, was not with us. We circled around and went back to where she had jumped out of the car, but to no avail we did not find Ginger. So on to Iowa we went, holding back our grief and lament over losing our dear little dog.

Christmas came and went and soon we were heading back to seminary and to college. On our way through Ohio, we stopped in Marion, talked to a dog catcher about our sad state of affair in losing our dog. He said that he had seen her, near a certain giving parking lot, So, we looked up this parking lot. It was 7:30 in the morning, Eileen and I were calling out for Ginger, we heard a dog yipping away, in a building where the parking lot guy had his office. She was barking at the top of her lungs. We waited for the parking lot attendant to come to the parking lot and unlock the door, so we could get our dog.

Yes, Ginger was so happy to see us, jumping up and down, with her little tail going back and forth. The lost had been found. Tears of joy welled up inside of us. Our Christmas was now complete. Soon, we were on our way, but this little dog story has never been forgotten and it never will, for that is what the advent season is all about. If we want the blessed hope of Jesus to be with us, we must be willing to search for Him, like the shepherds and the wisemen did, until they found Jesus. If we live in hope, and if we search, we too can find Jesus, and the real meaning of Christmas will be experienced in our lives.