Merry Christmas
Always
believe in MIRACLES!! Three years ago, a little boy and his
grandmother came to see Santa at Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin . The child
climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl.
"Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. "Your friend? Your sister?"
"Yes, Santa," he replied. "My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said sadly.
Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
"She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!" the child exclaimed. "She misses you," he added softly.
Santa
tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking
him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas. When
they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child
off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.
"What is it?" Santa asked warmly.
"Well,
I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but .." the old woman
began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the
little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors. "The girl in the
photograph... my granddaughter well, you see ... she has leukemia and
isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through
tear-filled eyes. "Is there any way, Santa . any possible way that
you could come see Sarah? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas,
is to see Santa."
Santa
blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with
his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do.
Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon. He knew what
he had to do. "What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed,
dying," he thought with a sinking heart, "this is the least I can do." When
Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he
retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was
staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to
Children's Hospital.
"Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.
Santa
relayed to him the conversation with Sarah's grandmother earlier that
day. "C'mon.... I'll take you there," Rick said softly. Rick
drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out
which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait out in the
hall.
Santa
quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw
little Sarah on the bed. The room was full of what appeared to be her
family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met
earlier that day. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah's mother stood by
the bed, gently pushing Sarah's thin hair off her forehead. And
another woman who he discovered later was Sarah's aunt, sat in a chair
near the bed with weary, sad look on her face. They were talking
quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family,
and their love and concern for Sarah. Taking a deep breath, and
forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a
hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!"
"Santa!"
shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to
him, IV tubes in tact. Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm
hug. A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up
at him with wonder and excitement. Her skin was pale and her short
tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy.
But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes.
His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears.
Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah's face, he could hear the gasps
and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.
As
he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one
by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering
"thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes. Santa
and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys
she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that
year. As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to
pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She
nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah's bed,
holding hands. Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she
believed in angels.
"Oh, yes, Santa... I do!" she exclaimed.
"Well,
I'm going to ask that angels watch over you," he said. Laying one hand
on the child's head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that
God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease. He asked
that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished
praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing softly, "Silent
Night, Holy Night.... all is calm, all is bright." The family joined
in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope,
tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all. When the
song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah's
frail, small hands in his own.
"Now,
Sarah, "he said authoritatively," you have a job to do, and that is to
concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your
friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair
Mall this time next year!" He knew it was risky proclaiming that, to
this little girl who had terminal cancer, but he "had" to. He had to
give her the greatest gift he could -- not dolls or games or toys --
but the gift of HOPE.
"Yes, Santa! "Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright.
He
leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room. Out in
the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick's, a look passed between
them and they wept unashamed. Sarah's mother and grandmother slipped
out of the room quickly and rushed to Santa's side to thank him.
"My
only child is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly. "This is
the least I could do." They nodded with understanding and hugged him.
One
year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his
six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by
and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap. "Hi, Santa!
Remember me?!"
"Of course, I do," Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her.
After
all, the secret to being a "good" Santa is to always make each child
feel as if they are the "only" child in the world at that moment.
"You came to see me in the hospital last year!" Santa's jaw dropped.
Tears
immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and
held her to his chest. "Sarah!" he exclaimed. He scarcely recognized
her,for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy -- much
different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He
looked over and saw Sarah's mother and grandmother in the sidelines
smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.
That
was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus. He had witnessed --and
been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about -- this miracle of
hope.
This
precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well. He
silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, "Thank you, Father.
'Tis a very, Merry Christmas!
If you believe in miracles you will pass this on...I did!
The internet is a strange and wondrous place. It’s amazing the people you can meet, and talk with, and have become your friends, and yet you never meet them face to face.
Last week I was telling you about a friend that was struggling with their spouse, and I wanted to play a song that seemed to go along with that. Well I couldn’t get the song to work. I finally got it to work thanks to a great friend that I have never met.
What I mean by all of this is I have a friend online who has hooked me up with the space needed to play some files. I met this friend through pc gaming. You see I have a love for racing games. Need the speed games and all other racing games. I ended up getting on a forum called www.needthespeed.net with a lot of friends. This place and group of friends are from all over the world. It’s so amazing to see the great people that you can meet. It’s cool learning a little about what people are like in other countries. It’s refreshing getting to understand that they are mostly just like us. This blog in itself has introduced me to some great people.
Anyway Thanks Viking and I hope you all enjoy this song. It is how we all feel I’m sure from time to time.. Apologies for the language.
