Wealth is in the spirit It's treasured
in the soul No amount of money Will make a
person whole
It's love that you are
giving That you will then receive What
greater joy in bounty Than any gold
achieved
For life should be a
blessing That fills the soul with peace No
coin in life of value Will grant us any
lease
Value that's within us We give
away each day In joy it is
returning Wealth now comes our
way
There is no way to add it Or
wonder where it went We know what value's
given Through days in life well
spent.
~ Francine
Pucillo ~ Šused with permission, Sept. 16,
2002 If you would enjoy using this poem on
THIS BACKGROUND set (it was written
for it) just e-mail Ms. Pucillo by clicking
on her name and ask her permission. Read more
of her poetry here.
The Dime
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 centsa 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.
May this story instill the spirit of CHRISTmas in you enough to pass this act
along.
Have a Joyous and Christ-filled season.
~ Author Unknown ~
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