[senco-forum] Christmas Wish

Christmas Wish

It was Christmas Eve and the Lord looked down from above at all His
children. It had been nearly two thousand years since the birth of His son
and turning to His youngest angel the Lord said: "Go down to the earth and
bring back to me the one thing that best represents everything good that has
been done in the name of this day." The angel bowed to the Lord and
spreading his wings, descended from heaven to the world of man, all the
while contemplating his mission. So much had been done in the name of
honouring the birth of the Christ Child. For this day, wars had temporarily
ceased, cathedrals had been built and great novels had been written. With so
little time, what could he possibly find to represent all this? 

As he soared above the earth, he suddenly heard the sound of church bells
below. Their tone was so beautiful that it reminded him of the voice of God.
Looking down, he saw a small church whose bells were ringing out the carol,
Silent Night. As the final note died away, it was replaced by one lone voice
singing inside the church. It was shortly joined by a second voice that
embraced the first in perfect harmony, and then another until a choir of
voices rose through the night. Enchanted by the magic of what he was
hearing, the angel found himself listening until the song was finished. As
he resumed his flight through the night, he was delighted to hear these
sounds everywhere, from the largest cities to the smallest villages. He
heard melodies from massive orchestras and in the voices of single soldiers
alone at their post. And any place where he heard these songs, he found hope
in the hearts of men. 

Grasping a song out of the air, he held it in his hand (angels are able to
do this) and thought that maybe, these songs could be the one thing that
best represented Christmas. They seemed to give voice to man's greatest joys
as well as hope to those deepest in despair. But, though at first glance it
appeared to be the answer he sought, his heart told him that this music
alone was not enough. There had to be something more. So, he continued his
flight through the night until he suddenly felt the touch of a father's
prayer on its way to heaven. Once again looking downward, he saw a man who
was praying for his child whom he had not heard from in a long time and who
would not be home that Christmas. Seizing upon the prayer, the angel
followed it until it reached the lost child. 

She was standing on a corner, in a quiet snowfall, looking very small in a
very large city. Across from her was an old city bar, the kind that only the
lost seemed to know how to find. The patrons of this establishment rarely
looked up from their drinks and so seemed not to notice the young woman.
Now, the bartender in this bar had been working in there longer than anyone
could remember. He believed in nothing except his bar and his cash register.
He had never married, never took a vacation and as matter of fact, had never
been seen out from behind his counter by most of his patrons. He was there
when they arrived and he was still there when they left. He gave no credit
and for seventy-five cents, served shots of un-watered whiskey to people who
used their drinks like a moat around their lives. For them, he provided a
safe, unchanging world. 

Suddenly, the door opened wide and into this world walked a small child. The
bartender could not remember the last time that a child had been in this
place, but before he could ask the child what he was doing there, the child
asked him if he knew that there was a girl outside their door who could not
get home. Glancing out the window, he saw the girl standing across the
street. Turning back to the child, the bartender asked him how he knew this.
The child replied "That on this night of all nights, if one could be home,
they'd be already there." 

The bartender looked back toward the young woman as he reflected on what the
child had said. After several seconds of thought, he slowly went over to the
cash register and removing most of the money, came out from behind the bar
and followed the child across the street. Everyone in the bar watched as he
spoke with the girl. After a few moments, he called over a cab, put the girl
inside and told the driver: "J.F.K. Airport." As the cab pulled away, he
looked around for the child, but the child was gone. And what was stranger
still, even though his own tracks leading from the bar were still clearly
marked in the snow, the child's were nowhere to be found. Returning back
inside, he asked if anyone had seen where the child had gone, but like
himself, no one had, for they also had been watching the departing cab. And
then, some would later say that the most miraculous thing of all happened,
when for the rest of the night, no one paid for a drink. 

Later that night, the angel returned back to heaven and placed in the Lord's
hand the wish of a soul for the happiness of another. And as the heavenly
host looked on, the Lord smiled. 

Regards

Ruth