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. And 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 could not seem to help myself. I just
kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who 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?" She replied a
bit impatiently, "You know that you don't have enough money for it."
The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to go
get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And
then she left the aisle.
The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy
who 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." Then he
asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love
to.
He pulled out some pictures he'd had taken at the front of the store.
He said "I want my Mamma to take this with her so she don't ever
forget me.
I
love my Mama so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me.
But Daddy says she will 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 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, 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 had started. And 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 and
the Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on
whether to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did
not belong with that story.
Two days later I read in the paper where the family had
disconnected
the life support and the young woman had 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 the life of that little boy
to pieces.
