HO-Lancaster Farming. Saturday, December 23. 1995
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Christmas Eve At
The Nursing Home
GAY BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
It was Christmas Eve. Outside,
a winter storm was sending lots of
wonderful snow. Wind howled
and the snowdrifts got bigger and
bigger.
But inside it was cozy. With
each hour that passed, the four sis
ters and their two little brothers
got more and more excited. They
were so excited that their eyes
sparkled almost as much as the
decorated tree in their livingroom.
The telephone rang. “It must be
important,” the children whis
pered to one another as they lis
tened to their mother talking. She
sounded very sorry about
something.
“Well, that’s certainly a
shame,” their mother said. “If we
can think of somebody to help
you, we’ll call right back. Thanks
for calling. Goodbye.”
"What’s wrong. Mother?”
asked the children.
“I feel so bad for the nursing
home,” Mother replied. ‘That was
the activities director. It seems
that nobody has volunteered to
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entertain the residents this even
ing. She asked if I could suggest
somebody.”
“But that’s awful,” said one of
the sisters. “Why, this is Christ
mas Eve.”
“Mother, won’t those old folks
be sad if nobody comes to see
them on Christmas Eve?” asked
one of the children.
“Well, yes, I suppose so,”
Mother said. “Who can we call to
help them?”
“Jesus will help us think of
someone, let’s ask him,” said
another child.
“Yeah, let’s just pray about it,”
piped up another.
“That’s an excellent idea,”
agreed Mother.
So the family prayed and sure
enough, God sent an answer. God
told the family they should be the
ones to go.
God’s answer pleased the child
ren. But the mother began to wor
ry. It wasn’t that she didn’t want
to visit the dear folks in wheel
chairs. She just didn’t want to take
her children out in a very bad
winter storm.
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Idella Bender, actlvKles director; Shirley Teets, assistant activities director, and
Jonas Fazenbaker, resident, gather around the Christmas tree at the Goodwill Menno
nlte Nursing Home in Grantsvllle, Maryland, for the Christmas Eve program.
ome
Besides, the family had never
performed together in public.
“Mother, you could play the
piano and we could sing,” said a
chipper little voice. “You could
even read ‘The Little Star’ story
that you read to us every Christ
mas,” the little voice added.
All the children agreed, so
Mother gave in. She called the
nursing home to say that she and
her children would provide a short
program for the residents.
The family bundled into woolly
coats, mittens, and hats. They
stuffed their-feet into boots, ready
for the blizzard. Into the back seat
of the old family car went the big
kids. Mother kept the little ones in
front with her.
Blowing and drifting snow
made the winding roads more
dangerous after dark. But since the
family felt that God had told them
to go, they knew He would keep
them safe.
As soon as they arrived at the
nursing home, the family forgot
about the weather. Mother played
the piano while the children sang
Christmas songs to the people in
wheelchairs who were gathered in
a big room. The people sang
along. So did some of the nurses
who were taking care of them.
Then Mother read ‘The Little
Star” story out loud. The little
booklet had first belonged to her
own grandpa and grandma, so she
was very fond of it. Long, long
ago. it had been a Christmas gift
from their Sunday School teacher.
Mother read how the little star
was getting ready to shine his
brightest with the other stars
because something very, very
important was about to happen on
the earth.
“When the angels touch their
harps and the cherubim begin to
sing, that’s the time to shine,”
Mother read how the master star
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was giving instructions to all the
stars.
As the story continued, the peo
ple heard how the little star ended
up being late. He missed the glori
ous moment. He was scolded for
fooling around when he traveled
across the sky. The master star
asked him why he was late.
The little star hung his head. He
had stopped along the way to
shine his light for weary travelers,
he said.
Then, he saw a lost lamb and
took time to shine his light again.
That took so long that he got lost
himself and fell far behind the
other stars. Of course, all of them
except the little star had shone
brilliantly, as planned.
After hearing the little star
explain, the master star was proud
of the little fellow and gave him a
high honor. The master star
appointed him to become the “Star
of Bethlehem,” which shines in
the eastern sky around Christmas
time.
The story was finished. Mother
and the children closed their pro
gram with another holiday song.
Everybody clapped their hands.
The family shook hands with
many of their elderly friends and
wished them a “Merry, Merry
Christmas!”
When the family was safely
home they cuddled around the
happy Christmas tree. Twinkling
lights and ornaments reminded
them to be thankful for the Baby
Jesus who brought so much love
into the world.
“You know, children,” Mother
said, hugging them close, “I
believe we are the ones who got
the greatest blessing at the nursing
home.
“Don’t ever forget that God’s
love shines brightest in the low
liest deeds of kindness that we do
for others,” she said.
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