Wendy's Wonderings

It's a tissue alert, ya'll....

OK, I know people say this all the time, but this IS a true story, and Shawe REALLY is a friend of ours. :-) He shared this story with us, and I immediately asked his permission to post it here, because it is so inspirational. :-) I did suggest to Shawe that it would be so awesome to have his daughter sing carols to this woman outside of her home. (I know, it's a Hallmark commercial, but I'm cheesy that way.) It's just to sweet. So, without further ado....

2 Christmases ago when my daughter was 3, my wife and I were shoppingwith her at Wal-Mart. They had a lifesize Santa that danced and sang several songs out on display, and my daughter was mesmerized. I wouldn't have minded having one in the house, but the price on it was too prohibitive for this Prison Guard who barely makes above minimum wage. Well my daughter enjoyed it so much, she began dancing and singing with the Santa and really enjoying herself. Pretty soon, I noticed she had attracted a crowd. She didn't seem to notice, though and continued to dance to her heart's content.

After a few more minutes, an older lady whom I had never met, came to us and said "I just wanted you to know how happy it made me to see your daughter have so much fun. I have a son who is in his 30's now but has Down Syndrome. He used to dance and sing all the time when he was a child, and seeing your daughter brought back those special memories. I am going to purchase that Santa for your daughter, and Iwant you to play it for her as much as she wants you to". I tried to speak to her to tell her we couldn't accept a gift that definately wasn't cheap, but I guess God held me back from doing so, because he made sure my eyes were so watery and my voice so choked up I couldn't say a thing.

I later found out that this wonderful lady lives in the same town I do and only a few miles from my house, although we had never met until that day. We still have Santa, and even though sometimes I get tired of hearing the same songs over and over, I remember the lady's voice and relent to hearing "Up on the Housetop" for the 35th time. She made my Christmas so special that year and showed me what the holiday is all about.

This year, her son passed away at their home. Her Christmas will notbe as joyous this year as yours and mine. But I believe she is content knowing that out there, there is a family who is still very happy and very thankful she went out of her way to help us enjoy our Christmas 2 years ago. The best way I can honor her is to tell this story every year which I continue to do. And I also believe she takes joy in knowing that up there in heaven, her little boy is looking forward to Christmas again. And he is dancing for eternity.

Thank you for sharing, Shawe.
Love,
Wendy Darling