THE CHRISTMAS ROSE

THE CHRISTMAS ROSES

May this story instill the spirit of Christmas in you enough

to pass this story along. Have a Joyous and Peace-filled season.
~"Bobby's Dime" by Thomas Pucci~

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend," Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far. What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the house hold in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing. Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn't buy anything with only a dime. He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you." As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.The sound of the door closing as the last customer left jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid. Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box."That will be ten cents young man," the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime! Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?" This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son," As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. "Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?" Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime. "When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars. "When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses." The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.

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THINKING OF THE LOVED ONES WE'VE LOST..

OUR GRANDPARENTS.. MY SISTER WANDA, OUR FIVE BABIES,  NORMAN'S BROTHER BOB, NORMANS DAD, MY DAD, MICHAEL (our foster son), JUSTIN, AND MOM...

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MOM AND DAD'S FAVORITES.. MOMS WAS RED, DAD'S WAS YELLOW.. (even though he would joke and say he didn't like the thorns.. he said he could be 10 feet away from them and still get his arms tore up by them) lol ... LOVE AND MISS YA BOTH, MOM AND DAD!

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE 20 CHILDREN THAT DIED AT SANDY HOOK.. AND THE 6 LOVING TEACHERS.. GOD PLEASE BLESS AND COMFORT THEIR FAMILIES! 

PRAYING FOR YOU AND YOURS TONIGHT AND NIGHTLY THAT GOD WILL BLESS EACH OF YOU WITH HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, GRACE, GUIDANCE, HAPPINESS AND INNER PEACE.. ALSO THAT HE WILL BLESS EACH OF YOU SPIRITUALLY, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, MENTALLY, FINANCIALLY, AND WITH LOVE AND RESPECT OF AND FOR FAMILY, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, CO-WORKERS AND ALL YOU MEET.. SAFETY, HAPPINESS AND HIS BLESSED SWEET PEACE..

PRAYING FOR MRS TERRY as she recovers from pneumonia... PRAYING ALWAYS FOR LITTLE EVAN, AND ALL THE CHILDREN WITH EB OR ANY OTHER DREADFUL DISEASES, AND THEIR FAMILIES...PRAYING FOR HANNA.. (EVAN'S SISTER) AND HER HEALTH ISSUES.. GOD BLESS AND HEAL THEM PLEASE AND THANK YOU.. PRAYING FOR EVERYONE WITH CANCER AND THEIR FAMILIES AND CAREGIVERS.. PRAYING FOR OUR COUNTRY THAT GOD WILL BLESS AND GUIDE OUR LEADERS TO DO WHAT HE KNOWS IS BEST AND RIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY.. PRAYING FOR OUR SOLDIERS, THAT THEY WILL ALL

SOON BE BACK HOME SAFELY WITH JOBS TO COME HOME TO AND FOR COMFORT AND INNER PEACE FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES...
PRAYING FOR ALL THE "UNSPOKEN PRAYERS" FOR EACH OF YOU AND ASKING THAT YOU'LL PRAY FOR OURS TOO AND THANKING YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS.. SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR EACH OF MY CO-WORKERS HELP US LORD TO ALL BE CLOSE, CARING AND HELPFUL TO EACH OTHER, PLEASE BE WITH THE KIDS AND HELP THEM TO CALM DOWN. SEND SOMEONE TO HELP KEEP THEM "IN LINE AND TEACH THEM SOME RESPECT"..GRANT PLEASE EACH OF US SOME REST AND RECUPERATION WHILE WE ARE OFF, SO WHEN WE RETURN WE WILL BE FULLY UP TO THE TASK.. PRAYING FOR EVERYONE LOOKING FOR JOBS, PLEASE LORD HELP THEM ALL TO FIND A DECENT JOB, SUITABLE FOR THEM... PRAYING FOR BETTY JO, TIMMY, AND KRISTIN, PRAYING THAT THEY WILL FIND INNER PEACE AND HAPPINESS!... PRAYING FOR SHARON MAE AND HER UPCOMING SURGERY!... PRAYING FOR HAPPINESS, REST, LOVE, AND GOOD HEALTH FOR JENNA .. PRAYING FOR CHRIS, AT HIS NEW JOB AND THAT HE WILL LIKE IT AND THEY REALLY LIKE HIM AND IT BECOME A LONG TERM 'LOCAL' JOB, AND FOR HIS TOTAL SAFETY.. PRAYING FOR JEFF THAT HE WILL HAVE HAPPINESS AT WORK, AND A GREAT BIG RAISE, AND FIND TRUE LOVE AND HAPPINESS IN HIS LIFE... UNSPOKEN PRAYERS FOR NORMAN J. AND HIS FAMILY... PRAYING FOR SPECIAL GUIDANCE IN MANY THINGS "UNSPOKEN" AND INNER PEACE ... AND AS USUAL AND ALWAYS, GIVING GOD THE THANKS, PRAISE, HONOR, AND GLORY IN ALL THINGS IN JESUS HOLY NAME, AMEN!