Gracie’s Gift
View(s):“Bye, Mum! Bye, Dad!” yelled Gracie, swallowing the last spoonful of cornflakes, slinging her for-once-light school bag on her shoulder and running to the gate where the van driver sat impatiently honking the horn.
“Hi everybody, one more day for school to close!” she grinned as she squeezed into a seat by an open window. The week of the dreaded term tests, you could have heard a pin drop in the van with everyone frantically doing the famous ‘last minute revision’ with their heads in their books But today it was so noisy, with jingles and carols, chatter and laughter.
Gracie was quiet, thinking about what her Grandma had said yesterday when she’d come to help her make the Christmas cupcakes for the class party. “Christmas is about sharing and even if you have nothing to give to someone, there is one gift that you can always give because it doesn’t have to be bought with money,
it doesn’t have to be made. It is a special gift that God has given to each one of us, a gift we shouldn’t keep for ourselves but should pass on to others. It is the gift of love and with it you can make others happy,” she had said, taking the cakes out of the oven.
“But… how do I give away love?
It cannot be wrapped into a package,” Gracie who had been icing the cooled cupcakes had asked with a puzzled frown.
“It doesn’t have to be boxed or wrapped, Gracie. You give yourself. Your smile to cheer someone, kind words to comfort, a helping hand with heavy grocery bags, your time to baby-sit your little sister. There are so many ways, darling and so many opportunities, if you only look around, you will find them,” Grandma had said smiling and wiping off a spot of icing on Gracie’s nose with her little finger.
Gracie turned round and smiled at her friend Farin who smiled back at her with a wave. “Smiling is easy, you smile at someone and they usually smile back at you,” she told herself. Yesterday, she had carried a pile of books to the staffroom for her teacher and spoken kind words to Latha who was upset, but that didn’t seem very much.
“I must find a way to give the gift of love to others this Christmas so that they know it is special,” she told herself.
At the traffic lights, Gracie glanced out of the window and breathed in the nip in the air. It felt so good. Suddenly her eyes fell on a barefooted little girl in a dirty dress, torn and patched in places, hair that looked like it hadn’t seen oil, water or a comb for months and stick-like arms and legs covered with sores, darting from car to car, pressing her nose to the closed windows or holding out a grimy hand to motorcyclists, those waiting for buses, or out walking. She spoke no words, her eyes said it all. Her young mother, who looked tired and ill, stood on the pavement, a toddler nervously clutching her ragged dress while an infant lay at her breast. Grandma had said “… If you only look around you will find them…”.
On the way back home Gracie chatted with her friends but as they neared the traffic lights she leant out of the window and stared, her eyes searching, her heart beating fast but the family was gone! “Where were they?” she thought. Disappointed, she wondered how and where she could find them.
The last day at school was filled with excitement. Although she didn’t get an ‘A’ report, the class party was a huge success with music, dancing, games and competitions, everybody loved her Christmas cupcakes and their class teacher had treated them to ice-cream cones. Her class won the shield for the ‘Best Class of the Year’. Everybody hugged each other and wished
‘Happy Holidays!’
As the van slowed to a halt at the traffic lights, Gracie looked out eagerly. Ah, there they were, seated in the shade of the almond tree. She was so relieved and thrilled. “Uncle! Uncle!” please stop for just two minutes near that almond tree,” she begged and as he was in a good mood and looking forward to the holidays himself, he did, asking, “Why Gracie? What do you want to do?”
“Uncle, I want to give that poor family something,” she replied in a tone he could not refuse.
“Okay, okay, hurry up!” he said, sliding the door open.
Quickly, she unzipped her schoolbag and took a large plastic box crammed with goodies shared by her friends and some remaining cupcakes as well. Joyfully, she jumped out, ran up to them and offered the box. The young mother stood up as if in a daze and blinked, pushing back the strands of hair that fell on her forehead. The two little girls hid themselves shyly behind their mother’s skirt and peeped at her with wee smiles. The infant was fast asleep in a cardboard box.
“Here, please take this, it’s for you,” she said smiling and putting the box into the mother’s hands. “I will come and see you again soon,” she promised as tears filled the mother’s eyes and the little girls began investigating the box. “Thank you Uncle! Thank you very much!” she said hopping into the van. Her eyes too, were filled with tears but her heart felt light. Everybody in the van happily waved to them and they waved back with shining eyes.
All the way home she whispered to herself, “I found them! I found them!”
In the following weeks, Gracie and her family shared many gifts with them. They found them a place to live, clothes to wear, a job to earn money and schools to attend. As she walked home after a visit to their home, her heart bubbled with joy and she hugged her grandma exclaiming, “Oh, Grandma, this is the nicest Christmas gift I’ve got!”
“You’re right, Gracie and that’s because you gave them your special gift of love,” replied Grandma patting her cheek.
Stopping at the almond tree where she had found them, Gracie closed her eyes and put her hand over her heart and whispered, “Thank you, God, thank you.”