My Light Magazine

The Christmas Gift

By: Pat St.Pierre

“I can hardly wait for Christmas,” said Peter, one of the boys in Jamie’s class. Most of The children were making a list and talking about what they wanted for Christmas. All Jamie could think about was his grandfather.

Jamie’s grandfather had been in a car accident and he was in the hospital. Jamie’s mother went to visit him every day. But Jamie wasn’t allowed to visit because the hospital didn’t allow children to visit when someone was very sick. Before the accident, Jamie talked to his grandfather on the telephone on Wednesday nights and he went to see him on Sunday afternoons.

Jamie thought of all the happy times he had spent with his grandfather. His grandfather was the one who taught him how to ice skate on the small neighborhood pond. He also showed him how to make a snow fort and how to roll snowballs. Jamie never thought about not being able to see his grandfather. I miss granddad he thought to himself.

During school the next day Jamie’s teacher said to the class, “I would like you all to think for a moment and then tell me the one present that you want most for Christmas.”

Many of the children had a hard time deciding what to ask for. “I know what I want,” said Jamie to his friend Peter.

Jamie raised his hand. “This year I don’t want any presents,” he said. “What I want is for my granddad to get better so that he can come home from the hospital.”

Miss Longo told the class, “Jamie has learned that Christmas is not just for receiving gifts, but it’s also a time for giving of yourself and sharing. I think it would be nice if all of you would think about what Jamie said and perhaps say a prayer for Jamie’s grandfather. Jamie knew that he would continue to say a prayer every night for his grandfather. He would ask God to make his grandfather better so that he could come home for Christmas.

The next week as Jamie was walking home from his friend’s house it started to snow. Snowflakes fell on his hair and his nose. He began to walk faster. Christmas would be here soon and Jamie wondered if his grandfather would be out of the hospital.

When he entered his home he gazed up at the Christmas tree. A worried look was on his face. His mother walked over to him and put her arm around his shoulders. “Jamie, guess what?” she smiled. “Granddad is much better. Although he won’t be able to walk around very much, he can come home tomorrow.”

“Yippee,” he shouted as he jumped up and down.

The Christmas star seemed to be shinning brighter than ever.