[I live about 30 miles west of ‘Tosa (Wauwatosa), Wiscons=
in. It has the state’s largest Mall and heard this story about the Ma=
ll Santa about 20 years ago. Author Unknown.]
Three years ago, a lit=
tle boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin.=
The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl.
"Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. "Your friend? Your si=
ster?"
"Yes, Santa," he replied. "My sister, Sar=
ah, who is very sick," he said sadly.
Santa glanced over at the=
grandmother who was waiting nearby and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tis=
sue.
"She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, =
Santa!" the child exclaimed. "She misses you," he added soft=
ly.
Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy’s f=
ace, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas. When they =
finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his l=
ap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.
"What is=
it?" Santa asked warmly.
"Well, I know it’s really too mu=
ch to ask you, Santa, but …." the old woman began, shooing her grand=
son over to one of Santa’s elves to collect the little gift which Santa gav=
e all his young visitors.
"…The girl in the photograph … my=
granddaughter . well, you see … she has leukemia and isn’t expected to m=
ake it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes. =
"Is there any way, Santa . any possible way that you could come see Sa=
rah? That’s all she’s asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa."
Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information=
with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do. B=
ut Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon. He knew what he=
had to do. "What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dyin=
g," he thought with a sinking heart, "this is the least I can do.=
"
When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that=
evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah=
was staying. Since he was just a “Santa” for a 6-week contract=
, he asked the assistant mall manager how to get to Children’s Hospital.
"Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face. Santa r=
elayed to him the conversation with Sarah’s grandmother earlier that day.
"C’mon …. I’ll take you there," Rick said softly. Rick dr=
ove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which r=
oom Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he’d just wait in the hall.
Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw li=
ttle Sarah on the bed. The room was full of what appeared to be her family;=
there was the Grandmother and the girl’s brother he had met earlier that d=
ay. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah’s mother stood by the bed, gently pus=
hing Sarah’s thin hair off her forehead. And another woman who he discovere=
d later was Sarah’s aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with a weary, sad loo=
k on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth =
and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.
T=
aking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the roo=
m, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!"
"Santa!" sh=
rieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, I=
V tubes intact.
Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug. A =
child the tender age of his own son — 9 years old — gazed up at him with =
wonder and excitement. Her skin was pale, and her short hair bore telltale =
bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looke=
d at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to for=
ce himself to choke back tears. Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah’s f=
ace, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.
As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside=
one by one, squeezing Santa’s shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering =
"thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.
=
Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the t=
oys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she’d been a very good girl that=
year.
As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit=
to pray for Sarah and asked for permission from the girl’s mother. She nod=
ded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah’s bed, holding =
hands.
Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed=
in angels.
"Oh, yes, Santa … I do!" she exclaimed.
"Well, I’m going to ask that angels watch over you," he said.
Laying one hand on the child’s head, Santa closed his eyes and praye=
d. He asked that God touch little Sarah and heal her body from this disease=
=2E He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he f=
inished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing softly, "S=
ilent Night, Holy Night …. all is calm, all is bright."
The f=
amily joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of=
hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all. When the =
song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah’s frail, =
small hands in his own.
"Now, Sarah," he said authoritativ=
ely, "you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well=
=2E I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I exp=
ect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!"
He knew it was risky proclaiming that, to this little girl who had termin=
al cancer, but he "had" to. He had to give her the greatest gift =
he could — not dolls or games or toys — but the gift of HOPE.
&quo=
t;Yes, Santa!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright.
He leaned down=
and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.
Out in the hall, =
the minute Santa’s eyes met Rick’s, a look passed between them, and they bo=
th wept unashamedly.
Sarah’s mother and grandmother slipped out of t=
he room quickly and rushed to Santa’s side to thank him. "My only chil=
d is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly. "This is the l=
east I could do."
They nodded with understanding and hugged him=
=2E
One year later, Santa Mark was again back at the Milwaukee metro=
area for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks=
went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap.
"H=
i, Santa! Remember me?!"
"Of course, I do," Santa pro=
claimed (as he always does – after all, the secret to being a "good&qu=
ot; Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the "only&q=
uot; child in the world at that moment.)
"You came to see me in=
the hospital last year!"
Santa’s jaw dropped. Tears immediatel=
y sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and held her to hi=
s chest. "Sarah!" he exclaimed.
He scarcely recognized her=
, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy — much differen=
t from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over an=
d saw Sarah’s mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving an=
d wiping their eyes.
That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Clau=
s. He had witnessed — and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing abou=
t — this miracle of hope. This precious little child was healed. Cancer-fr=
ee. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, &=
quot;Thank you, heavenly Father. ‘Tis a very, Merry Christmas!"
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
"Jesus Knows Me, This I Lo=
ve!"