The Doll and a White Rose
I hurried into the local department store to grab
some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at 
all the people and grumbled to myself. I would 
be in here forever and I just had so much to do. 

Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. 
I kinda wished that I could just sleep through 
Christmas.

But I hurried the best I could through all the people
to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled 
to myself at the prices of all these toys. And 
wondered if the grandkids would even play with
them.

I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my 
eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He 
kept touching her hair and he held  her so gently. I
could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over
at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I 
watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt 
by name and said, "Are you sure I don't have enough 
money?"  

She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don't
have enough money for it." The aunt told the little boy 
not to go anywhere that she had to go get some other 
things and would be back in a few minutes.

And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold 
the doll. After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. 

He said,"It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for
Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it."

I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He 
said, "No, Santa can't go where my sister is.

I have to give the doll to my Mamma to take to her."

I asked him where his sister was. He looked at me 
with the saddest eyes and said, "She was gone to
be with Jesus. My Daddy says that Mamma is going
to have to go be with her."

My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked
at me again and said, "I told my Daddy to tell Mamma 
not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back 
from the store." Then he asked me if I wanted to see his
picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some 
pictures he'd had taken at the front of the store. He 
said "I want my Mamma to take this with her so she 
don't ever forget me.  I love my Mama so very much and 
I wish she did not have to leave me, but Daddy says she 
will need to be with my sister."

I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had 
grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I reached 
into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the 
little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time?"

He grew excited and said, "Yes, I just know it has to be
enough."  So I slipped my money in with his and we began 
to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly 
said, "Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money."

Then the boy said, "I just asked Jesus to give me enough
money to buy this doll so Mamma can take it with her to 
give to my sister, and he heard my prayer.

I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Mamma a white
rose, but I didn't ask him, but he gave me enough to buy 
her doll and a rose  for my Mamma.  She loves white roses 
so very, very much."  In a few minutes the aunt came back
and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking 
about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally
different spirit than when I had started. And I kept 
remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several
days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a 
little girl and the Mother was in serious condition. The 
family was deciding on whether to remove the life support.  

Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story. 
Two days later, I read in the paper where the family had
disconnected the life support and the young woman had 
died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering 
if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could 
not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses
and took them to the funeral home where the young woman
was. And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the 
beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store. I 
left there in tears, my  life changed forever.
 
The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother 
was overwhelming.  And in a split second a drunk driver had 
ripped the life of that little boy to pieces.