The Clown

A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.Proverbs 18:16

Each spring, for several years when I was a kid, my family would go to the Lion’s Club Carnival at a community center close to my neighborhood. The Lion’s Club is an organization that raises money for hospitals to treat blind people and the carnival was their biggest fundraiser. The carnival consisted of games, cake walks, and plenty of junk food to buy. One spring, when I was about 7 or 8 years old my Grandmother, or Granny as I called her, was in the hospital during the time of the carnival. She had been sick for a while and would have surgery the day before the carnival. I had not been able to see her while she was in the hospital so I was very worried.  My parents, my brothers, and I drove to the carnival to enjoy a night and maybe not think about our grandmother for a little while. On the way to the carnival I decided that I would play all the games and win the biggest and best prize I could to give to my Granny when she returned home from her surgery. But like all little boys, I got caught up in playing games until I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to win a prize for my Granny. I was down to my last quarter, and too afraid to ask for more money, I headed to the ring toss game. On the shelf of prizes at the ring toss game was a white Teddy Bear that would be a perfect gift for my Granny. I gave the man my last quarter and threw the rings. After I completed my tosses, the man told me that I had done well but had not scored enough points to win the Teddy Bear.  He went on to tell me, "But you did good enough to win this clown". The man handed the clown to me and I have never been more disappointed in my life. I was angry at the man, myself, and that ugly clown. Someone had stitched this ugly clown together by hand and now I was the proud owner of the ugliest prize ever!  I found my mother and told her about how I tried to win the bear for Granny but instead had only won the ugly clown. She assured me that Granny would love the clown, but I was sure she would hate it and I was embarrassed to even give it to her. After my Granny had returned home we drove to her house to visit. I walked into her bedroom with the clown behind my back. I was not trying to surprise her with the gift but was hoping my mom would forget and I could get away without having to give my ugly gift. After a few minutes of talking, my mom said, “Show Granny what you have for her”. I handed the clown to Granny and quietly said, “I have a gift for you that I won at the carnival”. She held the clown and acted like it was the most beautiful and special gift she had ever received. She talked about how it looked like someone had made the clown by hand and it must have taken a lot of hard work for me to win such a special gift. My Granny was so excited about the clown that she suddenly seemed like the discomfort from the surgery went away. She also made my disappointment go away. I had been embarrassed by the ugly gift because I did not think it was special enough to make her feel better. Everyone loves a nice Teddy Bear but nobody would want this ugly clown. Granny put the clown on the top of her bed and it stayed there for almost 20 years until the day she passed away. After her death I went to her house and found the clown in the exact spot he had been put many years earlier. The clown did not have to be as fluffy and pretty as the Teddy Bear to do the job he was meant to do. I went to the carnival to win a prize to make my Granny feel better and the clown did exactly that. The clown is also unique. He was not made in a factory with thousands of others that look exactly the same. He had been sewn together by someone’s hands. 

The clown reminds me that God does not need me to look or act like all the other people on this earth. He made me as a unique person, specially designed to serve Him and help others. My Granny taught me that all gifts are special. She did not care what the gift looked like because she loved the giver of the gift more than the gift. She also taught me to be proud of the unique gifts I have and to not be embarrassed to show them to others. We may not think our gifts are very special but to a person needing a friend or a kind word it will be the most special gift of their life.  

My Granny, Mrs. Nellie Mae Kendrick, would be 105 years old today. I did not want the day to go by without remembering the lifelong lesson I learned from the most special grandmother ever!

Chad