I asked Jesus...

The Words of Samuel the Lamanite to the People of Zarahemla:

“And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

“And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day. Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

“And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you. And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven. And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life.” (Helaman 14:2–8)

Carol: “Stars Were Gleaming”

Stars were gleaming, shepherds dreaming;

And the night was dark and chill.

Angels’ story rang with glory;

Shepherds heard it on the hill.

Ah, that singing! Hear it ringing,

Earthward winging, Christmas bringing!

Hearken! We can hear it still!

See the clearness and the nearness

Of the blessed Christmas star.

Leading, guiding; wise men riding

Through the desert dark and far.

Lovely showing, sharing, growing,

Onward going, gleaming, glowing,

Leading still our Christmas star!

I Knew You Would Come

by Elizabeth King English

Herman and I locked our general store and dragged ourselves home. It was 11:00p.m., Christmas Eve of 1949. We were dog tired. We had sold almost all of our toys; and all of the layaways, except one package, had been picked up.

Usually we kept the store open until everything had been claimed. We wouldn’t have woken up happy on Christmas knowing that some child’s gift was still on the layaway shelf. But the person who had put a dollar down on that package never returned.

Early Christmas morning we and out twelve-year old son, Tom, opened gifts. But I’ll tell you, there was something humdrum about this Christmas. Tom was growing up; I missed his childish exuberance of past years.

As soon as breakfast was over Tom left to visit his friend next door. Herman mumbled, “I’m going back to sleep. There’s nothing left to stay up for.” So there I was alone, feeling let down.

And then it began. A strange, persistent urge. It seemed to be telling me to go to the store. I looked at the sleet and icy sidewalk outside. That’s crazy, I said to myself. I tried dismissing the urge, but it wouldn’t leave me alone. In fact, it was getting stronger. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer, and I got dressed.

Outside, the wind cut right through me and the sleet stung my cheeks. I groped my way to the store, slipping and sliding. In front stood two boys, one about nine, and the other six. What in the world?

“See, I told you she would come!” the older boy said jubilantly. The younger one’s face was wet with tears, but when he saw me, his sobbing stopped.

“What are you two doing out here?” I scolded, hurrying them into the store. “You should be at home on a day like this!” They were poorly dressed. They had no hats or gloves, and their shoes barely held together. I rubbed their icy hands, and got them up close to the heater.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” replied the older boy. “My little brother Jimmy didn’t get any Christmas.” He touched Jimmy’s shoulder. “We want to buy some skates. That’s what he wants. We have these three dollars.” he said, pulling the bills from his pocket.

I looked at the money. I looked at their expectant faces. and then I looked around the store. “I’m sorry,” I said, “but we have no--“ Then my eye caught sight of the layaway shelf with its lone package. “Wait a  minute,” I told the boys. I walked over, picked up the package, unwrapped it and, miracle of miracles, there was a pair of skates!

Jimmy reached for them. Lord, let them be his size. And miracle added upon miracle, the were his size.

The older boy presented the dollars to me. “No,” I told him, “I want you to have these skates, and I want you to use your money to get some gloves.” The boys just blinked at first. Then their eyes became like saucers, and their grins stretched wide when they understood I was giving them the skates. What I saw in Jimmy’s eyes was a blessing. It was pure joy, and it was beautiful. My spirits rose.

We walked out together, and as I locked the door, I turned to the older brother and said, “how did you know I would come?”

I wasn’t prepared for his reply. His gaze was steady, and he answered me softly. “I asked Jesus to send you.”

The tingles in my spine weren’t from the cold. God had planned this. As we waved good-bye, I turned home to a brighter Christmas.