Mother's Christmas Suprise

Mother's Christmas Surprise

     It was April and it was Mother’s birthday. The family had gone out for the evening to Mothers favorite restaurant and now, back at home,  the kitchen table was covered with cards from each of the children and from father, of course. As mother looked at each card, she read each word and looked at the name signed at the bottom of the card. From her oldest, her son, to her second, her daughter and lastly from her baby, now 9 years old, she read each card carefully. Her youngest piped out proudly, “Dad helped me write my name.” "Oh", replied mother, "I can see that” and she thanked each child and gave them a kiss, especially her youngest. He was her special child, born with an impairment that did not allow his hands to work properly. He was smart as a tack, as they say, but he struggled using his hands. He had marked on the card and father had written his name underneath so that mother would know who the card was from, as if she would not have known. That night, as the family settled into getting ready for bed, the youngest son looked at the cards. He saw his brother’s and sister’s signature, so nice and readable, and then he looked at his own. Right then he made a vow; he would write his name by Christmas.
      He told no one, not that he was ashamed or embarrassed, but he wanted mother to be surprised when he wrote his name on her present. So he went to work, exercising his fingers, training them to grip the pencil. Oh how it hurt, but to keep him encouraged, he kept the card from his mother’s birthday close, so he could see how he used to write. Day after day, he went to his room and practiced. He shredded all the paper he used, he wanted no one to know. He used old newspaper, writing his name over and over, strengthen his fingers, practicing his name over and over. Several times he almost slipped and told his brother and sister, but then reminded himself this was a present for this mother.
      Christmas came and father took all the children with him one evening and the all got to purchase a gift for mother. He bought a picture album, the kind with the place in the front for a picture. He told his father he wanted to put his school picture in the opening and give it to his mother to keep all his school pictures in, but he had other plans. Always before he had asked for help wrapping his present, but not this year, he did it all by himself. He went to his room and then carefully, painfully, he wrote on a nice piece of paper he found in his father’s desk. With much difficulty he put the paper in the opening so that when his mother opened the present, she could see what he had written. Then he finished wrapping the present.
      Christmas morning came and the house was full of excitement. The children laughed and shouted for joy as they each opened their presents. The children all got dad a new drill, with mother’s help of course, and then they presented their gifts to their mother. He was last, of course, and he was so excited he didn’t even pay attention to what his brother and sister had given to their mother. When it was his turn he proudly gave his gift to his mother. "You will never guess what I got you this year", he said proudly. Mother said laughingly, "it feels like a book." "Yes", he said, "a picture album with a special surprise".
      Mother opened the package that had been lovingly but poorly wrapped, and then tears filled her
eyes. She put her head down and a sob came from her voice. Her son thought something was wrong. But soon mother lifted her head and look proudly at her son. "I have never received a greater gift is all my life. I will treasure this gift forever." "What did he get you", cried the other children. "Let us see". She turned the book around and in plainly printed letters were written,  "MOM, I LOVE YOU. STEPHEN."   

Welcome to my blog

I'm so glad to welcome you to my blog. This is my first attempt at doing anything like this, so I'm sure you will have to be patient with me as I learn how to get everything set up just the way I want it. So, pull up a chair, get yourself a hot cup of coffee or a cool glass of tea and let's enjoy spending some time together. Sharing His Stories will be the place where I share the stories that come to me. There is no formula, there is not a special time of day or night when it happens, it just happens. My mind begins to wander and before I realize it, I am in the middle of a story, hearing the conversations, seeing the scenes and sharing the emotions of the characters of the story. And while I use these stories occasionally as illustrations in the messages that I share with my congregation, more often than not, I rarely share them with anyone. That's why I'm starting this blog, to give me an outlet to share these stories with you. You will find some of the stories more pointed than others, some funnier than others and while all of them may not be "Christian", you  will find them wholesome and stories that you can share with others without any fear of being embarrassed by what you read. That's a promise! So please visit often. I will be sharing new stories as often as I can. And please let me know how I am doing. Your comments will be of great help to me as I develop this blog. Thanks for visiting and enjoy the stories.