It is the Christmas season and I sat back and thought about 2020 and how important it is to do something special for those around us. What might seem little to us could be something big to them. Merry Christmas everyone. Stay safe and healthy.
Samantha Sheridan
The Little Donkey and Christmas
It was a December morning, with the sun shining and shoppers flooding the sidewalks trying to get their final Christmas presents bought. No one was paying attention to each other, only their task at hand.
Most of the people had their masks on because this year, the Covid-19 virus had become a pandemic, and so many people were getting sick, some were dying from it. The children were wrapped up with scarves and gloves because it was a chilling winter morning.
Walking down the sidewalk was a little donkey, looking around and watching the people scurry about. He noticed no one seemed to care about anything but themselves. They never noticed he was amongst them; they just walked around him. How odd for them to not pay attention to a donkey walking on the sidewalk. You would think someone would ask him if he was lost, but they didn’t. They all seemed to rush on their way.
The little donkey looked into each store window and saw beautiful trees decorated for the holiday season. There were all kinds of things under the Christmas trees, wares the shops had to sell. They were placed there to entice the people on the streets to shop in their stores.
As the little horse walked a little further, he came upon a full restaurant. He stood at the window, watching as the food was served to each patron. The people held their cellphones in their hands and paid no attention to the waiter or the people across the table from them. He shook his head and kept walking along. Still, no one noticed him or asked if he needed help.
Stopping to watch the people, the donkey saw an older gentleman with an army cap and jacket on sitting on a street bench. He looked starving and cold. He had a duffle bag next to him, and the gloves on his hands left his fingers open to the weather.
As he sat there gazing across the street, he saw a woman come out of the restaurant. The donkey watched as the lady walked up to the man sitting on the bench and handed him the bag of food and the hot coffee. She also gave him $20 and thanked him for his military service.
He continued to walk down the sidewalk and heard music playing, so he ventured to the park. In the park was a little house set up with Santa sitting there, greeting each of the children and giving them a candy cane. Because of the covid, they could not sit on his lap, but they could sit on the bench in front of him. Each of them told him what they wanted for Christmas and smiled as the elf handed them the candy cane.
One little boy sat down on the bench and looked down. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and he looked up with tears in his eyes.
“Santa, I want my mom home for Christmas. She has been working an awful lot of hours at the hospital. I worry she is going to get sick,” the little boy said. “I know she is taking care of herself and all of us, but I want to see her smile again. We love her a lot, and I want to see her sadness go away.”
The donkey watched as Santa got up from his seat and walk over to the little boy. “Son, your mom is so important to lots of people who don’t feel good right now. You need to show her how much she means to you and let her know you care. Hugs go a long way.”
“Santa, can I have a hug? I promise I am not sick with the virus,” the little boy said.
As the little boy got up from the bench, Santa bent down and hugged the little boy. “Thank you, Santa. I don’t need anything for Christmas. Can you help the other little boys and girls who have nothing?”
The man in the suit felt a tear slip down his cheek. He had been the town Santa for many years, and today he realized how important his job was. To be here for the little girls and boys who needed that glimmer of hope during the holidays.
The little donkey went over near a park bench and laid down to rest. An older gentleman was sitting on the bench who looked down on him.
“Are you tired, or are you just watching the people doing their errands and rushing around,” the man asked the donkey.
Startled, the donkey looked at the man, “You see me, and you are talking to me. I have walked all over this town, and no one saw me or even asked me if I was lost or needed help.”
“That is because they are all caught up in the things which are not so important and are forgetting the little things which are,” the older gentleman said. “In this world, people don’t stop to take in the world around them. Some would say; they don’t stop to breath.”
“What are you doing in town, little one,” the man asked.
“I am searching,” the little donkey responded. “I feel so useless and unimportant.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I watch people doing great things, and I am just a little donkey.”
“Let me tell you a story about your history and why you are not just a little donkey,” the man responded as a halo appeared over his head. “My name is Gabriel. I am the one who brought you to Mary to carry her to the stable to have the baby Jesus. If it hadn’t been for you, she would have had to walk the entire road to Bethlehem. You were important to her as she was about to have the baby who came into this world to become the savior.”
The little donkey sat up on his front feet and listened to Angel Gabriel talk to him about the trip and how important he was to get Mary to the Inn, how he stayed with her the entire time and later carried her and the baby from Bethlehem.
“You are important to all of us,” Gabriel told the little donkey. “You then carried Jesus through the streets as they laid palms at your feet. You made sure he was taken care of, and he thanked you for the ride and taking care of him.”
“I watched the people in town, and I saw a woman bring food out to a veteran who had nothing and was cold. Santa helped a little boy whose mom was a health care worker, and I am just a little horse.”
“Just because you are little does not mean you are not important. Think about the small child back at the farm. Every morning she comes out, and she feeds you and gives you a big hug. That is a big job you do. You make her smile, and you give her the love she needs. That little girl is sick right now, and you are the one who makes her feel better.”
Gabriel ran his hand over the donkey’s mane and looked at him. “You are going to watch that little girl grow up, and you will be there for her for many years. Sometimes we are small, but we are mighty. It isn’t always the big things we do in life; it is the little things that bring a smile to someone.
As Gabriel got up from the park bench, people suddenly slowed down, and they smiled at their children and nodded at others who walked by. Those who had their masks in their pockets pulled them out and put them on.
The little donkey watched Gabriel go and headed back home. He knew he was important, and the little things he was doing were big things in this vast world.
May God fill your life with love, joy, and peace this Holiday Season and throughout the New Year. God bless you at Christmas and always. May he keep you safe and healthy through these challenging times.
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