24 Stories of Christmas Day 4

December 4

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” Jeremiah 23:5

Day 4: Jesus Teaching in the Temple

Ornament: Scriptures

Scripture Reading: Luke 2: 40-52

By Grant Romney Clawson

Carol: Oh Come All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful,

Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Christmas Giving Returned in Full

by Glenna Cottom Sanderson

Every year there comes back to me, from early days in Washington D.C., this true story:

I can hear her now, the cleaning woman with her West Virginia hill country dialect, as she told it to us. Poor woman, she seemed born to hardship; she had raised her nine brothers and sisters from the time she was orphaned at twelve. Now, much of what little she could earn disappeared into the bottomless pit of her husband's alcoholism. She looked sixty; we were shocked to learn that she was thirty-four. But she had such jolly brown eyes and resilient disposition that she seemed one of the family after a few times working at our home on Saturdays.

Her daughter, Gertie, was seven years old and in the first grade at Christmas time. In the school hallway was a big box for Christmas donations of canned food or used toys. Gertie's teacher made an eloquent plea on behalf of the poor children who had no toys at all. Gertie had one toy, her beloved doll, Mary. But she thought of the poor children who had none, and she knew what she must do. She brought Doll Mary to school, choked back a tear as she stroked the faded print dress and said her goodbye, and placed her in the big box.

On Christmas Eve, the cleaning lady sat at the round oilcloth-covered table in her bleak kitchen, her face in her hands. Gertie, with empty arms, was gazing out into the cold blackness when the snow came. They hardly saw the two men who left so quickly after they sat down their burden and shouted “Merry Christmas!”

The woman and the little girl stared at the basket. It was heaped so high there must have been two bushels of food and Christmas goodies. And there, on the very top, in a wondrous new pink dress, sat –Doll Mary.