The greatest miracle of Christmas is an awakening. We are not on our journey alone. God has joined us on the path by becoming human. He walks with us and participates in our joys and sadnesses. We do not have to be afraid. We have our loyal and loving companion.
There is a wonderful little story that is always worth sharing at Christmas. It is a favorite of mine. The fourth Sunday of Advent asks that we stand prepared to receive God where we are. It asks for us to participate. Here is the story:
"In New York City, on a cold day in December, a little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, ‘my, but you’re in such deep thought staring in that window!’ ‘I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,’ was the boy’s reply. The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, ‘No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.’ As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her. ‘Are you God’? No, said the woman. I am only his child. The boy smiled and said. I knew it. I knew you were some relation of his."
Now is the time to act like a relative. It is time to reach out and assist others in solidarity with God. It is Christmas.
