I remember a Christmas years ago, when the true spirit of Christ birth was shown in the hearts of five children. These children were not born into the Beaver Clever type family, far from it in fact.   They were born into a home of disfunction and abuse.   They had a stepfather, (the 3rd) and a mother whom they rarely saw.   It was the oldest sister that was the glue, that held together this small band of siblings.  

It was the christmas season and they had been left for days to watch over themselves in a tiny rented farm house a long ways from the little village. It was the day before christmas and no tree had been put up, no decorations and no presents could be found.  

The children were afraid that they would not have christmas that year. So after a little brother and sister meeting, it was decided that 3 of the older ones, would put on their warmest clothes and forge through the deep snow to get a christmas tree.  

They took an old worn out sled and a hatchet they found in the garage and set out on their mission.

     Now the snow is very deep in the north country this time of year and it all but swallowed the children up.   Clinging to each other they pushed onward. Suddenly in a clearing they spotted it, the perfect tree. Now to see how children that were 13, 10, and 7 could possibly have chopped down that tree with a dull hatchet was quite a miracle in itself.

     It was so cold and they didn't have warm clothes but with love of Christmas in their hearts they made it back home.  Once there they had to figure a way to make the tree stand in the house.   The answers were all given to these children so simply.  

An old milk pail was found and filled with saw dust and rocks. It wasn't perfect but it worked well enough.

     They then set about to decorate the tree. they made popcorn and strung it. Then found paste and made paper rings in chains. They wrapped foil over paper cups and made bells. they each had something special to them that was put on that tree.

     The oldest sister then found some cocoa and milk and made hot chocolate for them all.   It was Christmas eve, they had their tree and each other. The only song they all knew was silent night and so sitting under their tree they all sang the old carol.

    It was 11:00pm and still no parents home to tuck them in. The oldest sister put them all to bed and prayed as she often did for a miracle.

After they were asleep she went into her things and found a few of the things that she loved and wrapped them as gifts to her brothers and sisters. Then she layed them beneath the tree.

When they awoke on Christmas morning the parents had come home sometime in the early hours of morning and had brought a few presents and put them under the tree.

     But for the children the gift that mattered most to them, was the gift of love that was shown that year and knowing that the Christ Child whose birth they celebrated truly sent a Christmas angel to watch over them.

     Of all the Christmas's that have passed since then, that one remains in my memory.   I have never lost the true meaning of Christmas or the love of the smallest and meekest of us.