The Christmas Surprise - My Little Secret

Once again, it’s that time of year when people are feeling happy and some, not all, are willing to lend a helping hand to help those who are less fortunate. As the days pass and with Christmas day only a week away, I remembered I would be spending the happiest day of all days during the year, alone. What a depressing thought; who, in their right mind would want to spend Christmas day alone.

Please allow me to retrace my thoughts back to December 1st – every year, when my children were growing up, we would decorate the house, indoors and outdoors, including setting the dining table with fine china, which we never used, yet, I always wanted the dining area to look like Christmas.

Currently, my children are all grown up and the husband, oh well, a new story for a rainy or sunny day, I still decorate as if we were still a family living in the same house. Also, decorating gave me hope and created a less lonely atmosphere. After all, Christmas has always been a good sign for great hope of brighter days ahead, right. Well, that has always been my prayer. With the decorations completed, it was time for me to go shopping for gifts. Yes, I would buy gifts to put under the tree, knowing that I would be spending the day without my children. The gifts I bought were for me. Why not, so I would buy the things I liked – slippers, perfume, body bath stuff, and, oh yes, I always bought me a toy or two since I enjoy collecting dolls, stuffed animals and remote control cars or planes, whichever one was on sale. I might live alone, in my heart I am still a big kid.

Finally, the gifts are wrapped and under the tree and now it’s time to make out my grocery list to get what I need to cook my Christmas day dinner. Every year I would cook Cajun food, totally different than what I would cook for our Thanksgiving Day dinner – turkey once a year is good enough for me.

Now, it’s Christmas Eve and time to go grocery shopping. The store will be crowded, I really don’t care because after all I won’t be in a rush since I will be spending the day by myself, or, at least that is what I thought.

I parked my car in the grocery store parking lot. When I got out of the car, I was greeted by a woman with her three children, twins – boy and girl age 7 and one 3 year old girl, in tow. She said “excuse me lady, do you have any spare change. I don‘t mean to bother you, but, I need money to buy food so my children can eat, tomorrow is Christmas and I just want them to eat a good meal since I can’t buy them presents.”

I told the lady I had no spare change and I starting walking towards the doorway to go into the store. I heard the woman asking other would be patrons if they had any spare change. They all said no, and, I became so overwhelmed (unexplainable), I felt her heartbreaking pain.

I went into the store and shopped for everything I needed for my Christmas dinner. While standing in the checkout line, I saw the women and her children still standing in the parking lot outside. The checkout teller made a comment that caught me off guard. She said “you bought a lot of food today, are you having lots of people come over on Christmas day.” I was so surprised by what the teller said. I answered by saying “yes, I am. “ That’s when I realized, I had shopped for the woman and her three children standing outside. With groceries in tow, out to the parking I went.

When I got outside, the woman was crying, a sure sign that she was unsuccessful in getting people to help. I put the groceries in the car, walked over to where the woman was standing and said “excuse me lady, I don’t mean to pry, I’m having a Christmas party tonight, at my house, you and your children are invited. I bought enough food for all to eat; you can help me cook while your children watch a movie on the television. She said “I appreciate you inviting us, but, are you sure you want us there? “ My answer to her was yes, I’m sure, because I want you and your children to have at least a hot meal for Christmas. She then said “thank you so much, but, I don‘t have transportation to get to your house.” I said, “You and your children can ride with me, go ahead and get in my car.”

While driving home, I remembered the presents under the tree and silently decided I would give them to the woman and her children. As much as I wanted to keep everything I bought for myself, their immediate need was much more important.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway at my house, her children were beaming with happiness to see the decorations on the house, including the freshly decorated Christmas tree I had sitting on the front porch. The mother didn’t notice the glow and glitter in her children’s eyes until we starting taking the groceries out of the car and that is when she looked at the expression on her children’s faces.

Once we got all the grocery out of the car and went inside, her children immediately ran over to the smaller Christmas tree in the living room and starting screaming and shouting, saying mommy come look at all the presents under her tree.

She shook her head and she laughed. Before I could ask her why she was laughing, she said, “I’m laughing instead of crying, my way of thanking God. If HE had not sent you my way, all of my hope and faith would have been lost today. HE placed me in that particular grocery store’s parking lot because HE knew I encounter a stranger with a kind and loving heart.”

My Little Secret –
They became my Secret Santa because I did not spend Christmas day alone and filled my heart with joy by watching them enjoying Christmas.

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