As you can see, the theme this time around is ribbons and candles, and for lack of a more inspired title, I'll call my offering A Christmas Miracle.
A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
Ella’s eyes sparkled as she bounced in place, fairly vibrating
with excitement. “Hurry UP, Nana! Open it!”
Gertrude shakily removed the last bit of wrapping paper,
revealing a laminated bookmark decorated with enough gold and red glitter to
fill a small bathtub. A gold cross shone at its top, and down its length,
glittery red hearts alternated with equally glittery red letters that spelled L-O-V-E.
Ella clapped her hands. “Do you like it? Do you?”
“Oh, my goodness!”
Gertrude gushed, pressing one gnarled hand to her chest. “This is so beautiful a famous
artist must have made it!”
“NO-O-O! It was me! I made it for you!” Ella giggled, her
face more radiant than ever. “Now you can throw
away that icky ribbon.”
Gertrude looked at the faded ribbon peeking out from the
pages of her well-worn Bible on the table beside her. Then she patted Ella’s
cheek. “I’ll happily use your bookmark in other books, sweetie, but my ribbon
stays right where it is. That’s where it belongs.”
“But why?” Ella asked, her bottom lip trembling. “I thought
you’d like something new and pretty.”
“Oh, I do like it, dear. I promise you I like it very much,
but not for my Bible, because that ribbon is much more than just a ribbon.”
With a smile, she whispered, “It’s a miracle.”
Ella sniffled. “It just looks like a dirty old ribbon to me.”
“Looks can be deceiving. Would you like to hear about it?’
The little girl nodded and climbed into her grandmother’s
lap. “I like your stories.”
“Oh, but this one isn’t make-believe. It’s about something
that happened a long time ago, when I wasn’t much older than you are now.” She
tweaked Ella’s nose. “But I wasn’t nearly as cute as you.”
When Ella stopped squirming and giggling, Gertrude hugged
her and continued. “It was just my parents, my younger brother and me back then,
and we didn’t have much money, but we were happy. We had a roof over our heads,
and we never went hungry. ‘Course, most of what we ate, we grew ourselves, and we
rarely had meat, but we were fine. We had each other, and like I said, we were
happy.”
Gertrude stroked Ella’s hair, a faraway look in her eyes. “Mama
cooked a chicken on Thanksgiving, and after all these years, I still remember
how good it was.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “The best meal I’ve ever
eaten.”
“Why didn’t you have turkey? We always have turkey for
Thanksgiving.”
Gertrude kissed the top of Ella’s head. “We didn’t have
enough money, pumpkin. Hardly anyone did back then. Anyway, Papa lost his job a
few days later, so we all knew it’d be an even simpler Christmas that year than
usual, but Mama made me a new flour sack dress and told me I could have one
small toy.”
Ella laughed. “NO-O-O! That’s silly! Nobody can wear a flour
bag.”
 |
| Fabric flour sacks |
Gertrude chuckled. “We sure did! Back then, flour bags were
made of pretty fabrics, and lots of people used them to make clothes. The dress
Mama made me was covered with tiny purple flowers. It was beautiful.”
Ella nodded her head solemnly, absorbing this new
information. “What toy did you ask for?”
“I didn’t. I told my parents to get my brother two, because
he was younger. But when I said my prayers on Christmas Eve, I asked God for a
piece of purple ribbon to match my dress, so I could wear it in my hair when we
went to church on Christmas. And Papa heard me.”
“So he got it for you?”
“He tried. Mama told me he walked all the way to town in a
snowstorm and knocked at the door of every single store, but they were all
closed. She said he was really sad when he got home.”
Ella kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “I’m sorry, Nana. So
you didn’t get your ribbon until after Christmas?”
“Oh, no,” Gertrude said. “When I woke up on Christmas
morning, it was lying on my pillow. One uncut piece of ribbon that was
the same deep purple as the pansies I used to plant in my yard here every year.
It was the perfect length to put in my hair, too, as though it had been created
just for me.”
Wide-eyed, Ella gaped at her grandmother. “Where did it come
from? Your mother?”
Gertrude shook her head. “No. She was just as surprised by the
ribbon as my father was, and they both cried when they saw it.”
Ella gasped. “Elves?!”
“No, dear,” Gertrude said gently. “I believe God answered my
prayer.”
Ella looked at her grandmother’s Bible with awe. “Wow,” she
whispered. For once, the fidgety little girl sat perfectly still, as though
deep in thought. Then she turned to her grandmother, her eyes aglow and an
angelic smile on her face. “Think he’d give me a pony for Christmas?”
Gertrude laughed. “Do you think one will fit on your
pillow?”
Ella giggled. “I was only kidding. Can I help you plant
purple pansies next time?”
“Oh, I’m afraid my planting days are done, but thank you for
offering. You’re a sweet child, Ella Bella.”
The little girl jumped down from her grandmother’s lap and
faced her with hands planted firmly on her hips. “Then Mama and I will have
to plant them for you!”
Tears sparkled in Gertrude’s eyes. “That isn’t necessary,
sweetheart. I don’t need to see purple pansies to remember how beautiful my
ribbon was. To remember the miracle.”
“But I do!” Ella insisted. “I want to plant purple pansies
every single year until I’m old like you, so I never ever forget.”
Gertrude smiled at her beautiful thoughtful grandchild,
every bit as much of a miracle as that piece of ribbon ever was. “Well then, Ella
Bella, purple pansies we shall have.”
******************
******************
May all your Christmas dreams come true.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
P.S. This story was inspired by a lovely old song called Scarlet Ribbons.
