I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas.
But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys.
I wondered if the grandkids would even play with them. I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy, about 5, holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently.
I count not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered whom the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman, and he called his aunt by name and said, " Are you sure I don't have enough money for it?" The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to get some other things and would be back in a few minutes.
She left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy whom the doll was for. He said, "It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas, She just knew that Santa would bring it."
I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said, "No, Santa can't go where my sister is…I have to give the doll to my Mamma to take to her." I asked him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, " She has gone to be with Jesus." " My daddy says that mama is going to have to go be with her." My heart nearly stopped beating.
Then the boy looked at me again and said, " I told my daddy to tell mama not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store." The he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures ha had taken at the front of the store. He said, " I want my mama to take this with he so she don't ever forget me." "I love my mama so much and I wish she didn't have to leave. Bud daddy says she ill need to be with my sister." I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking, I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time?" He grew excited and said, " Yes, I just know it has to be enough."
So, I slipped my money in with his, and we began to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, 'Thank-you, Jesus, for giving me enough money.' Then the boys said " just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll, so mama can take it with her, to give to my sister. He heard my prayer." I wanted to ask Him for enough money to buy my mama a whit e rose, bit I didn't ask Him, but He gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my mama. She loves white roses so very, very much."
In a few minutes the aunt came back, and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy, as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I have started. I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier, about a drunk driver hitting a can and killing a little girl, and the Mother was in serious condit8ion. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support. Now surely, this little boy did not belong to that story.
Two days later, I read in the paper where the family has disconnected the life support and the young woman died. I could not forget the little boy, and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected.
Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home, where the young woman was. And, there she was, holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store. I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped that life of that little boy to pieces.
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