A Christmas Miracle

Desperately hoping for a Christmas Miracle I waited in line behind many children. When my turn came, a startled Santa looked at me and said, “How old are you?”

“77 Santa,” I replied, “And I have been good.” His elves agreed. “What would you like,” he asked with a smile as if he already knew.

“I want to visit the past,” I answered, “To a time 50-years-ago, when I heard a little girl in a homeless shelter ask her mother for a new doll, and her mother replied, “No! We can’t afford it!”

"It crushed the spirit of this little girl, and she began to cry."

"But I did nothing, thinking it was none of my business. For all these years, I have wished for a second chance, a chance to bring joy to a little girl who deserved it.”

“I understand,” said Santa. “On Christmas Eve I will bring you back to that time and place, and I will give you one of my nicest dolls to take with you. You give her the doll, and then I will pick you up.”

And so it was, as I rode in Santa’s sleigh, to that time and place. 

This time, when the little girl heard her mother say, “No! We can’t afford it!” I said to her mother, “With your permission, I have this beautiful doll and no-one to give it to. May I give it to your little girl.”

Her mother was stunned and said, “Thank you!” 

Adding, “There are just the two of us, and you are giving my little girl exactly what she hoped for. You answered my prayers.” The little girl was so excited as she hugged her new doll.

"This is the best Christmas ever!" I heard her say.

Soon Santa whisked me away in his sleigh, and back to the present. “How did it go,” he asked. “It was perfect,” I said. “Thank you for giving me the second chance I had wished for, for 50-years.”

“With pleasure,” he replied with a smile. 

“Actually, I have waited 50-years for you to come to me,” he continued. “You see, that doll changed that little girl’s life from hopeless and lost in homeless shelters to a dream fulfilled. Without that special gift, her life later amounted to very little, with bad marriages and dead-end jobs."

“Instead, that doll became the first of many wishes fulfilled, as she later went to college and to medical school on scholarships. As a doctor, she has now saved or healed many lives, and she is a messenger of hope, often handing out toys and kind words to children as poor as she had been."

“In every life there is a special, life-changing gift or event which can ultimately determine the outcome of that life. Your gift for her was that life-changing gift, and this Christmas morning, she and her family, including her mother who lives with her, are having a very happy celebration.”

"A Christmas Miracle?" I asked Santa. "A Christmas Miracle," he warmly replied, with a sparkle in his eyes.

With Love To All - Dick