As she walked along the snowy street, her eyes fell onto a little brown spot on the curb a few yards in front of her. She approached and saw that it was a teddy bear. Something drew her to the stuffed animal and it was a queer thing since she had no children of her own. But she somehow felt led to pickup the wet, dirty thing, and so she did.
She was a little embarrassed to carry around a child's toy, but hoped people would think of her as a mother taking her baby a Christmas bear. And most people did think that, but also wondered why she didn't have it wrapped.
Her apartment was a couple of blocks away and when she reached it, the snow was falling with speed, stacking up on the streets and sidewalks.
The warmth from the heater was a great welcome to Colleen. After shedding her two overcoats and draping them on a bench by the door, she hurried to stand close to the heater. The bear, still in her hand, began to melt and drip water, making a muddy puddle at her feet.
"Oh, yes," she said, just then realizing she was talking to a child's toy. The bear stared at her as she held and looked at it. A dark red and green bow was tied around its neck, two little black eyes and a nose made up its face. It was quite cute.
Colleen reached for a towel and started to dry the fur. When it was fluffed and cleaned, she searched for a place to put it...until she knew what else to do with it. But before she had found a place, she heard a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" she wondered, forgetting about the bear in her hand. Her pastor stood before her when the door was opened. "Good evening. Come in and warm yourself."
He entered with a smile, then turned his eyes to the stuffed animal. "I can't stay too long," he said, bringing his eyes back to her. "I'm handing out a few left over angel tree cards and thought you might like one."
Colleen gladly took one and thanked him. When the pastor had left after a few minutes, Colleen took a long glance at her card. "A little boy named Joe. Needs clothes, a pair of shoes, and...oh, look there," she said with a smile, "a teddy bear."
*
Colleen read the house number once more; it was correct. After a knock on the door, she waited a short while for a reply. With her hands full, all she could do was smile when the door flew open. A woman held an infant on one hip and a young boy hugged her other leg. "Merry Christmas."
The woman bore a grin full of teeth and patted her son. Joe stepped forward and gently took the first gift from her. He saw the bear and instantly he widened his grin .
She couldn't hold back tears of joy as she watched the family.
"My boy...hasn't been this happy...in a long while. We're so poor and with so many mouths..." the woman's eyes misted. "Thank ya for caring."
Colleen was welcomed into the house and offered a very weak type of coffee. The children helped open Joe's presents and when all were open, he let his siblings have some of the candy. Soon, Joe had warmed up to her and was talking her ear off, until his mother told him to hush.
When they had done their good byes, Colleen drove home. As she sat in her living room, she thought about her new friends. Had she have left that dirty old bear in the street, Joe and his family wouldn't have had such a merry Christmas. She suppressed a smile and thanked God for the opportunity of giving to them.
By Savannah Jo
Elliott
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| Credit: Google search |
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