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Emerging Courageous online Magazine - Stories

Christmas in July - Donna Wallace

No. This year wasn't going to be her Christmas either, Amanda decided. Not this year. Oh how she longed for, waited for, and prayed for the Christmas's like she used to have when she was just a little girl. They were gone now, but not forever, this she knew. She had faith. She believed. She knew Santa Clause would come again, and she would be happy and carefree. Laughing and playing like all the Christmas's before. Before two years ago when her Christmas magic had suddenly stopped. Amanda was thirteen years old now, and she felt as though she was almost grown up. Surely she had learned so many lessons these last two years. Lessons she never imagined she'd ever have to learn. Lessons about how it feels to lose someone you've loved your whole life. Her dad. Gone. She remembered her dad and how much she loved him, and how much he loved her. The good old days when she was just a child, all just a memory now. Memories were all she had to keep her warm, and keep her going when the pain became too much for her to bear. Memories of how her dad would carry her on her shoulders yelling, "Out of the way, out of the way, the Princess is coming, Princess Amanda has arrived!" Memories of horsy back rides, hide and seek, and tea parties they shared together. She still could hear his laughter and see the twinkle in his eye whenever he would call her "his little princess".

As far back as she could remember they were almost inseparable. When she was still a small baby her mother had run off with another man and left Amanda behind with only her dad to raise her. He was mom and dad and he was her very best friend. He was her everything. He was her world! And now he was gone. Why? Why did he have to go, she often asked herself? But she knew it was because he was one of the special ones and that God had a special purpose for him. One which he could only fill. She was sad and yet she was proud that God had picked her father. She was happy that her dad could fulfill a higher purpose, but as hard as she tried she couldn't help feeling sorry for herself sometimes. Still she had faith, and she believed and she knew that she would see her dad one day again, and that things would be just exactly as they were before. Before the robbery. The silly, useless robbery. Her dad would have given the gunman everything he had if he had just asked and not waved his gun around wildly, finally shooting her dad in the heart. Killing him instantly, without warning. Her dad always said that nothing he had mattered except Amanda. Amanda was his prize, his world, and his whole life. Amanda was all he lived for and now he was gone, and she was left behind all alone.

She realized that her life hadn't been all that easy in her 13 short years. First of all losing her mother to a man who wasn't worth a hill of beans, as her dad would often say. But she barely remembered her mother, and didn't even know for many years that her mother had come to an untimely end in a car accident when she was still just a toddler. You can't lose something you never had, she thought.

Amanda spent a lot of time thinking and remembering. That was all she had to do these days, and at least her memories were kind to her. She remembered all the years when it was just her dad and her. They were the complete family unit and they were happy and content. She never knew her mother and so she never missed the fact that there was no mother in her life. Amanda had her dad and that was all she needed.

She didn't realize that even though her dad was enough for her, that her dad needed more in life. He needed a woman to love. A mate. A wife. As clearly as she could remember she was almost ten years old when Tiffany came into her dad's life. Tiffany. Was that any name for a woman? No. More like a possession, a prize - something to show off to the world. "Hello world, I'm Tiffany". Tiffany was beautiful. Knock down dead, beautiful. She had hair like black satin and blue eyes that were the shade of the ocean being kissed by the afternoon sun, and almost as big. She was tall and lean and knew just how to move. She knew how to dress. She knew how to act. She knew how to sing. She knew how to make Amanda's dad fall in love with her. It seemed the only thing that Tiffany didn't know was how to love Amanda. Tiffany just didn't pay any mind to Amanda at all. She could not be bothered getting to know Amanda.

Amanda supposed that Tiffany really never cared for her at all, but while her father was alive she wasn't that aware of the fact. She had her dad. Tiffany just seemed to have her own separate life, and her own plans which never included Amanda. Amanda was just as happy to stay out of her way because Amanda had learned that Tiffany could be very short tempered and ugly when things didn't go exactly as she wished them to. Children were just an annoyance. An inconvenience. Tiffany never planned to have any children, and now Tiffany had Amanda. Not by choice but by default and Tiffany wasn't adjusting well at all to the situation. Amanda was no longer happy and carefree. She didn't look forward to her days with Tiffany even though she tried to be on her best behavior and do all that she was told. Somehow she just never got things right. She was always a princess in her father's eyes, whereas, to Tiffany she was just a bumbling child. No matter how hard she tried to please Tiffany she could see the disappointment in her eyes and hear the criticism that was always there in her voice.

Now here it was almost Christmastime again, and Amanda dreaded the holidays. She knew that Tiffany would be invited to parties and celebrations while she would be left home alone. At times she longed to go to the parties with her, just so that she could hear the laughter, sing the Christmas carols, and see smiling faces. She realized though that she had no place in Tiffany's world. She was too clumsy, her feet too big for her size, and her body seeming not to mind what it was that it was supposed to do. Thirteen years old is an awkward age but Amanda wasn't aware of the fact that she was just growing up. Becoming a young woman. She compared herself to Tiffany and felt miserable because she was such a freak. She tried to imitate Tiffany and how she looked but she failed miserably. No matter how hard she tried to style her hair like her stepmothers, Amanda's hair just seemed to rebel! It waved wildly in the wind, and it always seemed to look as if she was caught in a windstorm, even when she was inside the house. Her skirts and dresses always seemed rumpled and wrinkled even though she attempted to iron them the best she could. She bumped into walls when she walked, spilled her drink, and never seemed to be able to find the right words to say whenever she tried to carry on a conversation with Tiffany and her friends. Their world was a different world than hers, and she felt lonely and isolated whenever she tried to enter it. She always felt lonely and isolated. She wanted to belong so badly to someone - anyone, but she realized that she was in every sense of the word alone now. Now that her dad was gone she was like a poor, sad orphan - wanting love...needing love, but not finding any love in her world.

Every night Amanda knelt by her bed and prayed to God. She prayed that one day Tiffany would wake up and love her. She prayed that she would feel wanted again one day. She prayed to God to end her loneliness, her sadness, and all the terrible feelings that she had come to know since her father passed away. She definitely wasn’t the happy little girl that she had been before her father’s death, and she wanted so to laugh and play and sing and be a normal child. A normal child, with a normal childhood, and a normal family.

Her dad and she had always gone to church every single Sunday. She loved church, and she loved God and she missed them both so much. Her stepmother refused to take her to church on Sunday's saying that she was a very busy lady and had better things to do. Well, she might have better things to do, thought Amanda, but I miss church and I have nothing better to do. All I do is sit in my room and remember happier times. Her dad had given her a strong religious foundation. He had explained to her how God watched over her and protected her from harm. He taught her the precious gift of Faith and Trust in God. Some times, lately, she would cry and question why this was happening to her, but then her father's words would echo in her ears. "Amanda, God has a reason for everything that happens. Some times we don't understand what the reason is, and it's not our job to question Him. It's our job to have faith and trust in Him." And so Amanda waited, and trusted and tried to keep her faith.

The year before Tiffany didn't do much to celebrate Christmas. It was a quiet and depressing time because Amanda's dad had passed away not long before and Tiffany was still grieving the loss of him. Therefore the house didn't get decorated and the holiday spirit was muffled to the point of almost being non-existent. This year was different though. This year Tiffany went all out decorating the house and throwing holiday parties. The house seemed to always be full of Tiffany's friends. Of course, Amanda was just underfoot and in the way all the time, and even though the house was bustling with activity she felt as lonely and isolated as ever. Most of her stepmother’s friends made a half-hearted attempt to include Amanda in the conversations but it was futile. They talked about people she didn't know and a world she just didn't understand. Even in the middle of the crowd she was all by herself with nobody to understand her wants, her needs, her dreams. It seemed that no one had the time for Amanda. Poor Amanda. Nobody knew her and nobody understood and it seemed nobody even cared. Amanda spent allot of her time crying and wishing she had just one friend to play with. Just one person to confide in and talk to. So Amanda slowly became more and more withdrawn. She stayed in her room, listening to the chatter and the laughter and feeling like she was all alone in a strange land. She spent her time talking to her dad and praying to God. Her only two friends.

Amanda prayed every morning and again every night before bed. She spent hours talking with her dad and telling him her dreams and how lonely and heartbroken she was. She knew her dad was listening. She knew that he heard her every word, and that he loved her and cared. Tiffany continued as before - thinking only of Tiffany, and Tiffany's wants and needs. She didn't give a minute’s thought to the little girl who felt all alone. She didn't consider how hard the death of Amanda's father had been on the child. Although she should have realized how completely Amanda's world had fallen apart, how lost and alone Amanda must feel without her father, how empty her world had become, instead Tiffany's mind just continually dwelled on her personal issues. The parties that filled her days and nights and thoughts that belonged to the world of adults. She didn't understand children and she had no intention of trying to learn to understand them. Amanda would grow up soon enough, she thought to herself, and then perhaps she could be included in Tiffany's world, but not now. She shrugged and dismissed the thoughts about her stepdaughter, and her mind ran on to more exciting events. Christmas was almost here and there was still so much to do.

Then, less than a week before Christmas Eve, on a cold, stormy night Tiffany's world came crashing to a halt too. Tiffany's world changed just as fast as Amanda's world had done two years before on the night her father died. Tiffany had been at one of the endless stream of parties. She was the life of the party, dressed to the hilt, enjoying being the center of attention. Alcohol flowed like water, and Tiffany was enjoying her share of the refreshments, realizing that the more she drank the more amusing and outgoing she became. She had the whole room eating out of her hand, or so it seemed, and she was relishing being in the spotlight. And so she drank. Drink after drink after drink. She realized she was becoming drunk. Too drunk. But she smiled and thought that at least she was a happy drunk. However, the party - like all good parties finally came to an end and Tiffany found herself too drunk to walk, so she dug into her purse until she found her car keys. Smiling, she practiced the line she would give to the police if they stopped her. Just an innocent holiday party she thought. Most of her friends were just as inebriated as Tiffany seemed to be and didn't have the good sense to warn her not to drive, but a couple of them pleaded with her to either stay over or let someone else drive her home. She waved her keys in the air, laughing and stumbled to her car. She climbed into the driver’s seat and the car lurched suddenly and then she wildly drove off. Not a care in the world. No, not a care in the world.

That was the end. At least the end of life as Tiffany knew it to be. She couldn't remember what happened, or even where it happened. She didn't even remember leaving the party. She didn't remember her friends pleading with her to stay, or her laughter in reply. All she remembered was the horrid screeching, the loud crash and the cries coming from deep within her.

Tiffany almost died that night, and for many months she wished that's exactly what would have happened to her. Death. Death would have been much easier than the fate she had to deal with now. She was in a coma for almost a month after the accident, and slowly woke to discover the destruction that fatal night had promised her. She suffered deep cuts all over her face. Her face was no longer beautiful, and when she finally got hold of a mirror she cried out in disgust. She was ugly! Why did God even let her live like this, she wondered? Her looks had been her life. Without her looks her life was over. The car she was in was totaled and crushed like an accordion. It crushed her frame, and most of all it crushed her leg. Her left leg was left limp and lifeless. Deformed and twisted. It could never be repaired back to normal. It would take several operations to even become functional again, and it would never look the same. She would never again wear her elegant spiked heels; she would never dance like before. She wouldn't even walk without a limp. This to Tiffany seemed a fate worse than death. Again she cried out at God and demanded to know why he even let her live. Why was he doing this to her? What was His purpose? Unlike Amanda, Tiffany didn't have the gift of faith, and she didn't really even believe in God. She never took the time to discover God and now when she needed the strength of faith, and the power of prayer she had neither. For the first time in her life, Tiffany was jealous of Amanda. Tiffany wished she had the strong faith in God that she had seen in Amanda. She had seen the comfort that Amanda's faith had brought her and longed for some of that precious comfort now.

Of course, once again, after Tiffany's car accident, Amanda's world was turned upside down. Now she felt even more like an orphan, and she had no idea what her fate would be. Amanda spent the first few days with one of Tiffany's friends but they had a modeling assignment and she couldn't stay there for very long. It finally turned out that Tiffany's best friend took her in. Perhaps she felt obligated; perhaps she did it out of kindness. Nothing really changed for Amanda, just as she had a room in Tiffany's house that is all she had in Stephanie's home. Stephanie was kind to her, and took her to see Tiffany every day but there was no friendship, no companionship, no small talk and nobody to confide her thoughts and worries to. Still Amanda thanked God each night that she had a roof over her head and wasn't being abused. She thanked God for all her blessings and never dwelled on her woes.

Tiffany was in critical shape for much too long - longer than she should have been. Simply because she didn't have the will to even live, the process of recovering was taking longer than usual. Tiffany dreaded every morning. The hours seemed to drag on and on. No parties to go to, nobody coming to visit, and nothing to take her mind off her predicament. Every time she looked in the mirror she just grew more depressed and wondered how she could go on. Life as she had lived was over for her. She could no longer make her living off her looks, that was for sure she silently screamed. She was afraid and she was alone - for the first time in her life. She had nothing and nobody to hold on to. All her friends had seemed to instantly forget her, and their lives continued. Hers stood completely still. Empty. It was the first time that her world wasn't filled with empty chatter and fuss and she began to hear thoughts she had never heard before. She began to experience feelings that she had never felt before. She knew in an instant what it felt like to be alone and afraid and unsure of what was to come. She longed for company. She longed for a friend. She longed for someone to talk to who would understand her and love her in spite of her deformities and imperfections.

Nobody ever came to visit her. Except Amanda. Amanda was there every single day. She came to her bedside even in the beginning when Tiffany laid in a coma and wasn't aware of her presence. Amanda talked to her quietly, and held her hand, and assured her that she would recover. Amanda brought Tiffany's comb and brush from home and spent hours just brushing her hair. Her hair, at least, hadn't been harmed in the accident. Tiffany would still love her hair, Amanda thought. Amanda kept on coming all through the winter and all through spring. When Tiffany woke up from her coma Amanda was there to help her recover. Amanda could see that nobody else was coming to visit her stepmother. That all her friends were conveniently busy, or away on vacation. Fair weather friends were all they were. She realized that now Tiffany was all alone too. She could only imagine how much that hurt her stepmother and how unprepared she was for the situation. Amanda understood that in some ways what Tiffany was going through was even harder on her than when Amanda lost her father. Amanda at least had God - Tiffany had no one now.

Recovery was slow and took many different directions. There was the crucial physical therapy that would help Tiffany recover the use of her leg, but that happened only after two major operations that addressed the major deformity that effected the limb. The operations were a success, or so they said, but the leg still didn't look human. Amanda knew that Tiffany's self-confidence had suffered a terrible blow. The truth is that Tiffany was a very vain woman and she depended on her looks. Looks which she didn't have any more. Looks which she would never regain. Amanda believed it must be easier for her than it would be for Tiffany to adjust to not being beautiful any more. Amanda had never been pretty, or charming, or popular and therefore didn't depend on it. Whereas Tiffany's world depended on her looks. Tiffany's world, as she knew it, was over and Amanda wondered how she could ever help her pick up the pieces and put her life together again. She knew it wouldn't be easy. But she looked around, and she waited, and when nobody ever came, Amanda knew that the only person Tiffany had to depend on anymore was her; Amanda. She needed a friend as desperately as Amanda had after the loss of her father. Even though she was scared and confused, Amanda took solace in her prayers. She prayed to God day and night to show her the right thing to do, and she prayed for a miracle. She surely needed a miracle, she pleaded, and Tiffany needed a miracle also.

Miracles come when you least expect them, and they come in many shapes and sizes and ways. Amanda continued visiting Tiffany, brushing her beautiful, thick hair, and urging her to do her physical therapy. She pleaded and begged Tiffany into doing all the many mundane exercises she had to do in order to fully recover. She teased and cajoled her into a brighter frame of mind - into wanting to live. And she slowly began to teach Tiffany about faith and belief and the power of prayer.

Amanda witnessed as Tiffany transformed from a negative, hopeless being into someone who dared to believe, and dream, and a new person emerged who even prayed and tried her best to trust in God.

Amanda found herself rushing home from school each day, rehashing the days events - the funny moments and the gossip she had heard at lunchtime so that she could tell Tiffany and make her a part of her world. Tiffany too found herself looking forward to Amanda's visit. Somehow things had changed for Tiffany. Somehow Amanda seemed smarter, wiser, prettier and more exciting than she had before the accident. Tiffany found herself wanting to get to know this innocent young lady. She discovered that she admired the girl's silent inner strength, and her devotion to Tiffany, who hadn't been kind at all to Amanda the last few years.

Tiffany was slowly beginning to realize the attributes that make a person special. It was starting to sink in that her friends hadn't really been friends at all. They were all superficial and had no real substance. She realized that Amanda had always been special inside, but that she had never taken the time to see her beauty. She had only seen her flaws and imperfections. Amanda was just a child and had a lot to learn and much growing up to do, but Tiffany realized that in many ways Amanda was far more mature than she herself was. Amanda was a "real person" with real feelings, and she already knew about the important things in life. Tiffany not only recovered physically while she was hospitalized, she was also seeing things through a new set of eyes. She was learning life's lessons, things she should have known years before. She was beginning to learn what life was all about and what gave deep meaning and purpose to one's life. And she was beginning to not only like her stepdaughter but fall in love with the special person she had always been.

As the time grew close for Tiffany to be released from the hospital Amanda began to wonder what life at home again with Tiffany would be like. Would it go back to being the same, lonely place that it was before Tiffany’s accident? Somehow, Amanda did not think so. Amanda had grown close to Tiffany over the long months and she knew that Tiffany was beginning to enjoy her company also.

Amanda thought and thought about just what she could do to make her stepmother’s homecoming special - a day she'd always remember. Then in an instant, miraculously the idea bloomed within her mind. Christmas! They never did celebrate Christmas. Tiffany's accident happened just a few days before December 25th, and so, for Amanda and Tiffany Christmas had never come that year.

Amanda decided that they would celebrate their Christmas in July! She excitedly set about her preparations, envisioning just exactly what she wanted Tiffany to see when she walked into her home for the first time since her tragedy. There had to be a Christmas tree, of course! Right smack dab in the middle of the living room, so she would see it right when she came inside. Amanda laughed with glee, and did a little dance right in the middle of her room! She was so excited by the prospect, and so happy that at long last Christmas would come visit her again.

Finding a Christmas tree was harder than she would have imagined, of course, in July. All the Christmas tree lots were bare and vacant, and the stores just laughed at her when she mentioned her untimely idea! One kindly, elderly lady though told her that she could probably buy a live pine tree at the nearby nursery. That's exactly what she did too! Amanda was even happier about the tree being alive because that way it meant even more to her than just a cut up tree from some tree farm. This way they could plant it in their front yard and it would be a living reminder of their special Christmas celebration. They could decorate it and enjoy it every Christmas, and remember all the happiness and miracles the tree had brought them on their very special Christmas in July.

Amanda didn't have a lot of money, and since it wasn't the holiday season anyway she couldn't find ornaments in the stores. So, she went about the business of making special ornaments. With construction paper, and glue and glitter she cut and folded and pasted, and made magical stars, little soldiers, and all sorts of lovely snowflakes. She popped popcorn in the microwave, and sang Christmas carols as she strung the popcorn into strings to decorate the tree with. At last she stood back and looked at her tree. It was breathtaking. It was magical. It was Christmas in July as only a child could envision.

The night before Tiffany was scheduled to come home Amanda barely slept a wink. She was beside herself! Giddy with anticipation and wonder at how Tiffany would react to her special surprise. The next morning Amanda took great care to dress herself. She brushed and styled her hair, and wondered when it had grown so long and thick. It hung like a luscious mane around her frame, cascading down her shoulders in long, bouncy waves. It was beautiful Amanda realized suddenly.

When she dressed in one of her best summer dresses, she looked down and saw the dress flowing gracefully below. Looking in the mirror Amanda saw a pretty girl, with shapely curves, dressed immaculately, with beautiful, innocent yet all-knowing eyes, and hair that looked like it came off a fashion model. She stopped dead in her tracks. All her thoughts were instantly erased and she realized for the very first time that she was beautiful. She was no longer the clumsy, misshapen child she remembered, but instead she had bloomed into a graceful, lovely young lady. Somehow, over the long months of her stepmother’s recovery Amanda too had grown. Tiffany wasn't the only one who had changed, and grown and bloomed, Amanda had also grown from child to woman. She had gone from freak of nature to a thing of beauty for the eyes to behold. When did all this happen she wondered? Then she smiled, thinking to herself, "It happened when I was busy being myself, and not busy trying not to be myself. This is I. The real me." Amanda looked once more in the mirror and smiled from ear to ear, happy with the image she saw and the person she had become.

On the long drive home Amanda could hardly contain her excitement. Even Tiffany began to wonder what surprise Amanda had planned for her. At long last Tiffany inserted the keys into their front door and the door swung wide open in welcome. Tiffany stepped inside, looked around and then gasped. "A tree! A Christmas tree, in July!" "However did you find a Christmas tree, Amanda?" Then she laughed. She laughed and laughed until she cried. She ran to Amanda and hugged her tightly, as never before. Tears streaming down her face Tiffany hugged and kissed Amanda and told her how happy she was to have Christmas to come home to. She, too, thought she had missed Christmas that year, but now she had a second chance. And so did Amanda. Christmas this year would always be special. Always be remembered. Always be treasured.

Of course, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without presents, right? No! So, of course, there were pretty wrapped packages under the tree. Tiffany didn't have a lot of money, but she already knew that the most precious presents came from the heart, and so she gave her heart to Tiffany. She had begged one of Tiffany's girlfriends to teach her how to crochet, and she had learned well. She made a beautiful lap blanket for Tiffany to wear over her legs when the nights turned cold. Tiffany's bad leg still bothered her, and she suffered from pain whenever it got cold. She also bought some little beads and took delight in making special friendship bracelets for her stepmother. At school they had taken portraits of each student and Amanda had mounted hers in a heart frame that said, "I love you" and glued sequins all around it.

Of course, since Tiffany didn't even know about the Christmas celebration, and the special tree, there were no presents under it for Amanda. But Tiffany opened her presents excitedly, and Amanda knew that both had touched her heart and she could see tears in Tiffany's eyes. They had grown so very close. They had come to love and understand each other, and they had a relationship that Amanda would never have imagined in a million years, just a few months before.

Tiffany finally excused herself and went up to her bedroom to rest for awhile. Amanda did the same. Reflecting on the past several months. How much her life had changed. She compared how she felt back in December to what she was feeling today and she realized that she was glad she never gave up hope. That she never had stopped praying. In all her wildest dreams she never would have dreamed the scenario that she was living now, and she couldn't have ever dreamed of anything more pleasant.

When Amanda and Tiffany went back downstairs they sat quietly, enjoying their Christmas tree and all the emotions they were experiencing. Then Tiffany quietly mentioned that there seemed to be one more small present under the tree. Had Amanda forgotten to give her one of her presents? No, Amanda said - there was only the two of them. At Tiffany's urging, Amanda bent under the tree and picked up the small, neatly wrapped present. The tag said it was for Amanda. She looked quizzically at Tiffany and asked how it had gotten under the tree at all. Tiffany smiled happily and laughingly said it must have come from Santa Clause. He must have come while they were both upstairs asleep. Amanda felt just like a child on Christmas morning! Excitedly, but carefully she unwrapped the box. She couldn't believe her eyes! Nestled inside was a lovely, delicate necklace. A 14-carat gold heart, intricately designed with precious little gems. This wasn't any necklace for a child, but was a very expensive, gorgeous necklace that could be worn with the most beautiful evening gown. Amanda gasped at its beauty and tears welled up in both her eyes. She openly cried and told Tiffany how very beautiful it was and how much it meant to her. She promised to take good care of it and always keep it safely inside her jewelry case when it wasn't around her neck. But the full meaning of the present was still lost on her. Tiffany gently told her to turn it over, which she did. Inscribed on the back of the necklace were the words, "To Amanda - The best daughter and friend a mother could have." Amanda realized then that this wasn't just a spur of the moment gift. Tiffany had it made especially for her while she was in the hospital still. The meaning of the gift wasn't lost on Amanda either. It was then that she realized that all the special feelings that had awaken in her for Tiffany had also awaken in Tiffany for her. At long last she finally realized that she had somehow come from orphan to daughter in just the few short months since Christmas. That what Tiffany and her had nurtured and discovered in each other had somehow bloomed from friendship to a special love. A love that only a mother and daughter could ever feel. Almost in disbelief she realized that another one of her dreams had come true. She finally had a normal family, a normal life, and that she was indeed a normal child. She knew in that instant that she finally had the love she longed for and needed, and the love that every child deserved. She had finally found the love she searched for. A special love that would last forever.

Tiffany and Amanda spent the day celebrating their Christmas alone. That's exactly the way they both wanted it. Christmas had never been more wonderful, or more special. That night Amanda climbed into bed, after saying her prayers, and she thought happily about the day. She remembered the Christmas in December that never came. The Christmas that seemed to pass so long ago. A lifetime, and yet it had only been seven months. So much had happened. Her life had changed so much. She remembered how sad and lonely she was during the holiday season - all alone and miserable. But she remembered how she never lost hope. How she knew that Christmas would come again. She believed. Belief was like magic she realized. If you believed in something hard and long enough it could happen. If you dared to dream and believed your dreams could come true, they would. And she understood the power of prayer. She realized that faith and trust in God was the most important thing. That if you only trusted in Him, that He would protect you always and answer every prayer.

So that night Amanda drifted off to sleep believing in dreams, and wishes and prayers, and knowing that there really was a Santa Claus, even if sometimes he came in July......

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE......

NO MATTER IF IT'S DECEMBER OR JULY - CHRISTMAS IS ALWAYS & FOREVER.....IT LIVES WITHIN OUR HEARTS…

~ Donna Wallace a.k.a. Gentle-Daydreamer

* Tender thought: Child neglect is, in it’s own way, a form of child abuse. If we were to count up all the child neglect numbers the child abuse statistics would soar out of the Heavens. Children need to be loved. They need to be reminded that they are an important part of the family unit, and that they are wanted. Please take time to remind your children daily, even several times a day how much they are worth and how much they are loved.

HUG THEM.........HOLD THEM......LOVE THEM........