I hurried into the local department store to grab¹ some last minute Chirsmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled² to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Chirsmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Chirsmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled³ to myself at the prices of all these toys, and wondered if the grandkids would even play whit⁴ them. I found myself in the doll aisle⁵. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll.

 

He kept touching⁶ her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept loking 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 and 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 Chirsmas. 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 siter was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, "She was gone to be with Jesus. My Daddy says that Mamma 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 my 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'd love to. He pulled out some picture he'd had taken at the front of the store. He said, "I want my Mama to take this with her so the dosen't ever forget me. I love my Mama so very much and I wish she dind 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 qiuet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pilled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, "Shall we count that miney 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 my sister. And he heard my prayer. I wanted to ask him give 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 rose so 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 shoppong in a ttally 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 killing⁷ 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 aome white roses and took them to the funeral home where the yough 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, thier life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sisiter and his mother was overwhel. And in a split⁸ second a drunk driver had ripped⁹ the life of that little boy to pieces.

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