When I was in seminary, in 1953,and living in Maryland. Eileen and I got into our 1940 Pontiac and headed for Iowa, to celebrate Christmas with our parents, living in Fort Dodge and Perry. It was a rainy rainy day and traveling through Marion, Ohio, I stopped our car, in the heart of downtown business district. When I got out of our car, Ginger, our dog decided to get out too. I was not aware that she got out of our car.

Well, I got the windshield wipers fixed, got back in our car and on our way to Iowa. About a mile out of Marion, we looked in the back seat of our car and there was no Ginger dog to be found. How sad our trip was, as we traveled 500 miles without Ginger.

Well, we celebrated Christmas with our families in Fort Dodge and Perry, and on our way back to seminary and college, we stopped in Marion, telephoned the dog warden and told him about our lost dog Ginger. Well, the dog warden told us about a lost dog in an office room, where people brought their cars, to be stored for a certain period of time. Well, Eileen and I got in our car, drove to this place, in hope of finding our lost dog. We got there and walked up to the second floor of this building and soon we began calling out the name of our lost dog, Ginger.

Lo and behold, we heard a dog yipping in this office room. We rushed to this room and looked inside and to our amazement, it was our dog Ginger. What a miracle, we had found our dog Ginger. Soon, the manager came to work. Unlocked the door and gave back to us our lost dog. And this is the real meaning of Christmas. The shepherds and wise men were in their search for the Christ Child, Jesus. They followed a star that led them to Bethlehem. They never gave up in their search for the Christ child. Eileen and I did not give up on our search for our lost dog. It was a miracle that we found Ginger. If we want Jesus in our lives, we must never give up in our search for Jesus. Merry Christmas to all!