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Show Tt Two, Section Two - The Springrilk Herald - December 25, 2003 MmM9 EDHiillnDlQiii) She looked down upon her newborn son. He seemed so small, and was so beautiful, every feature Erfectly formed just as she ew it would be. Here was the future of the world, a King, a Savior-yet so tiny! Her thoughts went back through the past year and she recalled vividly the visit of the angel Gabriel, who told her of the coming of this child. At first, she could not comprehend his message, but as the angel talked and told her of the child she would bear, she knew she had been chosen by God to bring forth His son, Jesus. She looked at the baby, a tear dropping gently on her check, knowing in her mother's heart that this infant, in-fant, in his life, would face many trials. She knelt in prayer, talking to the Father, and renewed her promise, "Behold, "Be-hold, I am the handmaid-en. handmaid-en. Her thoughts returned to the events of these past cfy:s:r":rti:i Get all your New Year party supplies Thanks to all of our great customers, from s 11 months. Joseph, her new husband, loved her dearly and had accepted what had happened to his Mary. He knew her, trusted her and believed in her. He had shown her great care and attention, at-tention, married her as they had planned and shared this miracle with her. The ride to Bethlehem had been tiring and Mary had feared she might lose the baby. They rested often along the way, Joseph giving her courage cour-age to endure the long trip. "Be calm, my dear one, we'll soon reach the inn." Oh, how her body ached and it seemed even worse, unbearable, when Joseph told her the innkeeper had said there was no more rooms! Many people had traveled trav-eled to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. The innkeeper had seen the disappointment on Joseph's face, walked to the door and called ;him back. "You may stay in the stable nearby. It will offer you 7 I J' '7K m If ft (. vr ... j J V '. m Tin n.TTD m r'M n v z comfort and a night's rest." For this Mary was grateful for she knew she could go no further. And now, looking at this Christ Child, her heart was filled with joy and thanksgiving. She looked and saw a brilliant light coming through the door of the barn, casting its bright rays onto the manger where her infant slept. Joseph quietly spoke, "Do you hear music? The choir of Heaven is welcoming welcom-ing the babe." . As they listened they heard the angels sing, "Glory to the Newborn King." Mary leaned over the manager, picked up her son and holding him close to her, gave thanks for this child who was to be a King of Kings! But for now, this precious pre-cious fleeting moment, he was her son and she was a woman who shared that special love that can only exist between a mother and child. . Vfli xrv 6 Off 5 ft w n n mnn r r ;a ' t " " Yes, Virginia, there was an editorial about the credibility cred-ibility of Santa Claus, appearing ap-pearing more than 100 years ago in The New York Sun. It was written by Francis Phar-cellus Phar-cellus Church, an assistant to the paper's editor. A true Christmas classic, clas-sic, it has outlived its writer, the recipient and the newspaper mat gave it life. Its most famous fa-mous phrases are often recalled and sometimes parodied: "We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication communi-cation below, expressing at the same time our great grati fication that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: "'Dear Editor: "'I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun it's so.' Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? "'Virginia Hanlon "'115 West 9th Street'" "Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in is intellect, in-tellect, as compared with the boundless world around him, as measured by the intelligence intelli-gence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge. "Yes-, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly cer-tainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. ex-tinguished. . "Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming com-ing down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but there is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing danc-ing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. "You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, not even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and pic ture the supernal J v f ( ma ) Urfhid Jflfc Ha-. UtmA ilf'I.Ji 1 Trie 164 S. Main 489 - at PartyLand! your friends at 565 North Main 489-7777 beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real" Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. ' "No Santa Claus! Thank God he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, Vir-ginia, nay, ten times ten thousands years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood." Read Leaf - Springville 1390 1 |