Saturday, December 14, 2013

On the First Day of Christmas Stories

For many years our family has had the tradition of gathering Christmas stories.  This year we'd like to share some of our favorites with you in the Twelve Days of Christmas style.

On the First Day of Christmas....


Pattern Of Love


I
 didn't question Timmy, age nine, or his seven-year-old brother Billy about the brown wrapping paper they passed back and forth between them as we visited each store.

      Every year at Christmas time, our service club takes the children from poor families in our town on a personally conducted shopping tour. I was assigned Timmy and Billy, whose father was out of work. After giving them the allotted $4 each, we began our trip. At different stores I made suggestions but always their answer was a solemn shake of the head, no. Finally I asked, “Where would you suggest we look?”

      “Could we go to a shoe store, sir?” answered Timmy. “We'd like a pair of shoes for our Daddy so he can go to work.”

      In the shoe store the clerk asked what the boys wanted. Out came the brown paper. “We want a pair of work shoes to fit this foot,” they said.

      Billy explained that it was a pattern of their daddy's foot. They had drawn it while he was asleep in a chair.

      The clerk held the paper against a measuring stick, then walked away. Soon, he came with an open box. “Will these do?” he asked. Timmy and Billy handled the shoes with eagerness. “How much do they cost?” asked Billy.

      Then Timmy saw the price on the box. “They're $16.95.” he said in dismay. “We only have $8.”

      I looked at the clerk and he cleared his throat. “That's the regular price,” he said, “but they're on sale; $3.98, today only.”
      Then with the shoes happily in hand the boys bought gifts for their mother and two little sisters. Not once did they think of themselves.

      The day after Christmas the boys’ father stopped me on the street. The new shoes were on his feet, gratitude was in his eyes. “I just thank Jesus for people who care,” he said.

        “And I thank Jesus for your two sons, “ I replied. “They taught me more about Christmas in one evening than I learned in a lifetime.”

--Jack Smith, as told to Raymond Knowles



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