Christmas Eve is the night that children eagerly await the arrival of Santa Claus. And if your kids or grandkids have been out and about during the month of December, they've likely encountered one of Santa's many helpers at shopping malls or Christmas parties. Sometimes, the birth of Jesus can get lost in the Santa excitement. But that was never the case with former Marine Ed Butchart, whose legacy of love and caring continues to this day.
It all started the day that Butchart helped a friend with cerebral palsy change a light bulb in his home. That act of kindness sparked a desire in Butchart to do more good, so in 1986, he left his job as a salesman to create an organization called Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC), which provides free or low-cost wheelchairs and other equipment or services to those with disabilities. As reported by Christianity Today, Butchart went on to become an ordained minister. When members of his church noticed that both his waistline and features resembled those of Santa Claus, they asked him to play the role for a Christmas program. He soon received requests to do the same in other venues throughout the Atlanta area.
At one event, he noticed an adult woman bouncing excitedly in line to see him. When she reached him, he realized she was mentally challenged. The woman's mother told him, "You don't have to mess with her. She . . . ain't never been right." Butchart responded, "She is also a child of God, and He loves her as much as He does any of His children, and so does Santa."
On another occasion, Butchart, as Santa, spotted a mother pushing a wheelchair with her four-year-old daughter, who suffered from multiple disabilities. He waved them over and treated the girl with loving tenderness. In addition, he noticed a problem with the wheelchair, so he told the mother to take it to Friends of Disabled Adults and Children for free fixing.
When the mother went there the next day, she was surprised to see Butchart and Santa were one and the same. She also revealed that the previous year's Santa looked at her daughter and said, "I'm not about to touch that kid." Butchart was horrified and vowed to always live up to Santa's image.
Through his work with Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, Ed Butchart "has given equipment to more than 30,000 disabled people in 51 countries and 35 states," reports Christianity Today. He also sees a divine side to his work as his alter ego, noting, "Santa Claus is a good place for [children] to learn about the unconditional love they will eventually understand comes from Christ."
When those children ask Butchart questions about how reindeer can fly and Santa can come down chimneys, he shares some insights with them that are valuable for people of any age: "On Christmas night, many years ago, God proved how much He loved the world when He sent us Jesus. And later, Jesus proved how much He loves us when He died on the cross. So that night, when God gave us Jesus, all the love in the world came together in an explosion of power. It's the most powerful night in the world. The power that explodes is God's love. That's when wonderful things happen. Reindeer can fly, and Santa can go down chimneys . . . [And] by being somebody's Santa Claus, you're emulating Christ."
This essay is this week's "Light One Candle"
column by Tony Rossi, Director of Communications, The Christophers; it is one of a series of
weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current
events.
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