A Story of Good Cheer by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 11/21/2006 at 11:00 AM

Fox News reports that a man who's been anonymously giving away cash for a quarter of a century has recently revealed his identity in the hopes that others will follow his example.

For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's been a long-held holiday mystery: Who is Secret Santa?

Larry Stewart, a successful businessman, "offers the simple gifts of cash because it's something people don't have to 'beg for, get in line for or apply for.'" And this part will make you cringe:

That was a feeling he came to know in the early '70s when he was living out of his yellow Datsun 510. Hungry and tired, Stewart mustered the nerve to approach a woman at a church and ask for help.

The woman told him the person who could help was gone for the day, and Stewart would have to come back the next day.

"As I turned around, I knew I would never do that again," Stewart said.

Given God's generous nature, I wish Christians were leading the way in giving. While I probably won't go around handing out cash to strangers, I think I could use a dose of Mr. Stewart's compassionate spirit. 1 John 3:17 says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" That's a great reminder as the holidays approach.

A Story of Good Cheer by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 11/21/2006 at 11:00 AM

Fox News reports that a man who's been anonymously giving away cash for a quarter of a century has recently revealed his identity in the hopes that others will follow his example.

For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's been a long-held holiday mystery: Who is Secret Santa?

Larry Stewart, a successful businessman, "offers the simple gifts of cash because it's something people don't have to 'beg for, get in line for or apply for.'" And this part will make you cringe:

That was a feeling he came to know in the early '70s when he was living out of his yellow Datsun 510. Hungry and tired, Stewart mustered the nerve to approach a woman at a church and ask for help.

The woman told him the person who could help was gone for the day, and Stewart would have to come back the next day.

"As I turned around, I knew I would never do that again," Stewart said.

Given God's generous nature, I wish Christians were leading the way in giving. While I probably won't go around handing out cash to strangers, I think I could use a dose of Mr. Stewart's compassionate spirit. 1 John 3:17 says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" That's a great reminder as the holidays approach.

Comments

[1. Bethany said the following at 3:34 PM on Nov 21:]

1

I have read about Secret Santa in my newspaper for the past several years. It nearly broke my heart when I read that he has cancer and may not be around next Christmas to continue his generous tradition. A man who has given so much, to so many, may die without knowing the love of Christ because of a careless comment by a busy woman.

[2. Larry Stewart said the following at 8:26 PM on Dec 2:]

2

I do know the love of Christ. I've never been more at peace than at any other time in my life. God gave me a second chance to get some things right, to forgive and pray for those that I may have felt wronged me somehow, to ask for forgiveness, and to tell my family and friends, "I Love You. In Christ, Larry Stewart

[1. Bethany said the following at 3:34 PM on Nov 21:]

1

I have read about Secret Santa in my newspaper for the past several years. It nearly broke my heart when I read that he has cancer and may not be around next Christmas to continue his generous tradition. A man who has given so much, to so many, may die without knowing the love of Christ because of a careless comment by a busy woman.

[2. Larry Stewart said the following at 8:26 PM on Dec 2:]

2

I do know the love of Christ. I've never been more at peace than at any other time in my life. God gave me a second chance to get some things right, to forgive and pray for those that I may have felt wronged me somehow, to ask for forgiveness, and to tell my family and friends, "I Love You. In Christ, Larry Stewart