| I believe that this is such a good story. Sometimes I guess we kind of take life for granted and we think that whatever is happening to us has got to be the worst thing. We need to stop and think that in life we only get what we can handle. Life is so short, we get caught up in our daily activities and we really don't just take a minute out of our day and ask ourselves what our purpose in life here is. We are always so busy, and then something tragic happens and there is no turning back the clock. One day I hurried into the local department store to buy some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I sort of wished I could just sleep through Christmas. But, I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I mumbled to myself at the prices of all the toys, and wondered if the kids would 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 held her so gently. I just kept looking over at the little boy. I could not seem to help myself and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman whom he identified as his aunt, and said, "Are you sure I don't have enough money?" She replied rather sadly, "Honey, I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money for it." His aunt told him not to go anywhere, to stay and look at all the toys, that she had to get some things and would be back in a few minutes. The boy continued to hold the doll. After a moment, I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, "It is the doll my sister wanted really bad 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 Mama 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 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." He then asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures that had been taken at the front of the store in one of those quick booths. He said, "I want my Mama to take this with her so she won't ever forget me. I love my Mama so much - I wish she did not have to leave me. But Daddy says she's going to be with my sister." The little boy lowered his head and grew very quiet. While he was not looking, I reached into my purse and pulled out some money. 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." As we counted, I carefully slipped the money in with his. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He said softly, "Oh, thank you, Jesus, for giving me enough money." Then the boy said, "I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll, so Mama can take it with her to give to my sister. And he heard my prayer. I wanted to ask Him for enough to buy my Mama a white rose, but I didn't ask Him, and He gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Mama! She loves white roses a whole lot." In a few minutes the aunt came back, and I went about my shopping. I could not keep thinking about the little boy as I finished what I needed to do in a totally different spirit than when I had started. I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier, about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl, leaving the Mother in critical condition, and the family with the decision as to whether to remove the life support system or not. Surely this little boy did not belong with that story. Two days later, I read in the paper where this family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young woman was. there she lay, 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 overwhelmed by the love that little boy had for his sister and his mother, and how cruel it seemed that in a split second, a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces. |
