~*The Doll And AWhite Rose*~

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 years old  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 asked, "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 Mama to take to her." I asked him where his

sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and

said, "She is 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 til 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 Mama

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 rosefor 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 that 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 that 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 lay. 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.