“What are we going to do, Evan?” a weary Susie complained one night. “I’ve tried to help her make friends with the other children, but she’s afraid to make an effort, afraid they won’t like her.”
“Give it time, honey,” Evan said, sitting down at the table across from his wife. “She has a lot of adjusting to do, and she’s come so far in such a few years. She’ll have friends one day.”
Susie was quiet for a moment. “Evan,” she finally said softly. “Have you prayed about it? I mean the friendship thing?”
Evan looked sad as he answered. “Not really. I mean, of course I’ve prayed for Noel. I’ve prayed for her since the day she was born. But I haven’t really asked God to send her a special friend, if that’s what you mean.”
Susie nodded. “Well, let’s do it. Let’s pray together and then let’s keep praying every day that God will love Noel enough to send her a special friend, if that’s what you mean.”
Evan reached across the table and took Susie’s hands. Together they bowed their heads and prayed. Quietly, sincerely, they asked that Noel be watched over and cared for and that God would find it in his heart to give Noel a special friend.
After that, Evan and Susie prayed daily for Noel and the friend she might one day have. Later that year Noel turned five and began attending a school for children with special needs. Academically she excelled far beyond her parents’ dreams, but she still struggled socially.
One day she came home with her head high and, much as an adult would, asked her mother to sit with her on the couch and talk for a while.
“I’m deaf, right, Mommy?” she signed.
Susie paused a moment. They had dealt with Noel’s deafness since the day she was diagnosed, but they had never discussed with her exactly what made her different from other children. “Yes, honey.” Susie moved her hands gently, her eyes searching those of her daughter’s. “You were born without the ability to hear sound.”
“And that makes me different, right, Mommy?” she asked.
Susie sighed, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. “Yes, honey. Most children can hear sounds. But there are many children who were born deaf, just like you.”
“Even though I’m deaf, I’m still smart and I’m still pretty, and I’m still special. Isn’t that right, Mommy?” Noel’s eyes shone as she asked the question, and Susie struggled to keep from crying. “And God still loves me, right?”
“Of course, Noel. God loves you very much. You are very special and beautiful and very wonderful and being deaf will never change that.”
Noel thought for a moment. Then her hands began to move once again. “It’s time for me to have a friend, Mommy. But I want a friend who’s deaf like me. Is that okay?”
Susie pulled her daughter close and wrapped her arms around the child, stroking her silky dark curls. “I’ve been asking God to send you a special friend, Noel. Maybe that’s what he has in mind. A special friend who is deaf like you. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
The year ran its course, and although Noel made more of an attempt with the other children than she had in the past, none of her classmates was deaf, and she finished her first year of school without a close friend. Her second year started much the same way and though they were discouraged, Evan and Susie continued to pray.
Two months before Christmas, Noel stumbled upon a picture of a white Persian kitten, much like the one of her storybooks. She was immediately and completely enamored with the kitten and ran to show her mother the picture, her hands flying as she tried to explain herself.
“Mommy, can I please have a kitten like that for Christmas? Please?” Noel was so animated that Susie had to calm her down before her daughter would show her the picture in the book.
“That’s a Persian kitten, Noel,” Susie said as she looked at the picture. “You want a kitten like that?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Noel signed quickly. “Please, Mommy,” she pleaded.
Later that night Susie and Evan discussed the idea of getting Noel a kitten for Christmas.
“She’s always loved her stuffed animals,” Susie said as she presented the idea. “Maybe that’s just what she needs right now. A pet of her own.”
“But a white Persian kitten?” Evan asked. “They cost hundreds of dollars, Susie. You know we can’t afford that.”
Evan was a teacher and Susie worked part-time at Noel’s school. With the cost of their daughter’s special education, they were barely able to scrape enough money together to meet monthly needs.
“I know,” Susie said. “But maybe we could save for the next few weeks and watch the advertisements in the newspaper. Maybe there’ll be one for sale that we can afford.”
Evan thought a moment and sighed. “All right, let’s try it. But don’t say anything to Noel about it. I’d hate to get her hopes up.”
For the next seven weeks Susie scanned the newspapers for white Persian kittens and found none for sale. Finally, a week before Christmas, she and Evan decided they had managed to save enough money to purchase such a kitten if only they could find one.
On December 23, while Noel was still sleeping, Susie opened the newspaper and pored over the classified advertisements. Suddenly she gasped out loud.
“Evan! They’re here. The kittens. ‘Persian kittens, white, $200.’ Can you believe it! We’ve found Noel’s kitten.”
When Noel was up and playing in the other room, Susie dialed the number listed in the advertisement.
“Yes,” she said when someone answered the phone. “I’m calling about the white Persian kittens.”
On the other line Mary Jenkins smiled. “Oh, yes,” she said. “We have a few left and they’re both the same, white kittens with gray markings.”
“Oh.” Susie’s face fell in disappointment, and Noel watched closely trying to read her mother’s lips. “We were looking for one that is completely white. It’s for my daughter’s Christmas present.”
“I see,” Mary said. “Well, there is one kitten that’s completely white. I’ll sell her to you for fifty dollars instead of the two hundred, if you’re interested.”
“I don’t understand,” Susie said, puzzled.“Well”—Mary paused—“the kitten is deaf. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sell her.”
Susie began to shake, and for a moment she was unable to speak. Noel entered the room and realized something strange was happening. “What, Mommy? What is it?” she began to sign.
“Are you still there?” Mary asked, breaking the silence.
“Yes! We’ll be over in half an hour.”
Susie hung up the phone and called Evan into the room. “Let’s tell her,” she said. “That way we can all go get the kitty together.”
They explained that they had found a kitten for Noel ... and that even though Christmas was two days away, they wanted Noel to have her pet that day.
Evan, Susie, and Noel met Mary on her front porch and immediately Noel was drawn to the perfect white kitten in the woman’s arms. “Snowball,” Noel signed. And gently she took the baby cat in her arms, holding the tiny animal close to her chest.
Evan and Susie exchanged a glance. “Let’s tell her,” Susie mouthed the words and Evan nodded. Stooping to Noel’s level, Susie quickly began moving her hands. “The kitten is a girl kitten, and it’s deaf, Noel. A deaf white Persian kitten.”
Noel’s face lit up as Susie had never seen it do before. “She’s my kitten, Mommy!” she signed.
They all smiled and Evan paid Mary for the kitten. As he did, she explained how the other kittens would run and hide when she ran the vacuum, but the white kitten seemed unaffected by the noise. Evan and Susie exchanged a knowing glance, remembering the days when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with Noel.
“Eventually I had the kitten checked by a veterinarian, and she told us the poor little thing was deaf,” Mary told them.
Susie petted the kitten and then got Noel’s attention. Her hands moving, she said, “See, Noel. She’s perfect and be
autiful and special, just like the other kittens. The only difference is she can’t hear.”
Noel smiled, snuggling her face up close to the kitten’s. Then she looked at her mother and with her free hand said, “Let’s take her home, Mommy.”
Over the next few weeks there was no separating Noel and her tiny deaf kitten. Every afternoon she would set the kitten in front of her on her bed and use sign language to talk to her. One day Susie watched, trying to understand what Noel was telling the kitten.
“It’s okay, Kitty,” Noel said, her little hands moving slowly so her kitten could understand. “You don’t have to be afraid or lonely anymore because now there’s two deaf people in our family. You’re the best Christmas present ever. We’ll be best friends for always.”
Susie walked into the room slowly and sat down next to Noel.
“You love her, don’t you, Noel?” she signed to her daughter.
“Yes, Mommy. She and I are both special because we’re both deaf.” Noel looked at her kitten, whose soft white face was tilted curiously as she watched Noel’s fingers move. Noel looked back at her mother. “She doesn’t understand sign language yet, but when she gets older she will. And then it will be easier for her to talk to me.”
Noel reached for the kitten and held her close. “Thank you for praying, Mommy. God heard your prayers,” she signed. “He gave me a friend who was born deaf just like me. And at Christmastime, too!”
“Yes, Noel.” Susie smiled. “I was just thinking that. God definitely heard our prayers. Your kitty is the best Christmas present of all.”
The First Day
of Christmas
Cara Wilcox was anxious to get out of the house for a while. It was December 12— the first day of Christmas—and already the air was freezing cold outside. Life had been difficult for the Wilcox family lately and Cara had no idea how she’d afford Christmas. Times like that cool winter night, Cara knew the only way to get her mind off her worries was to get outside—even in their crowded neighborhood—and get some fresh air.
“Who wants to take a walk?” she asked as she climbed into her coat. It was very dark outside, and Cara’s secure. And that evening she planned to walk no more than once around the block.
Cara looked into the faces of her four children and saw that none of the older three was excited about the idea of a walk. Sarah, five, and Joey, seven, shook their heads.
“We want to watch TV, Mom,” they said.
Cara looked at her oldest son, Colin, fifteen, and the boy shrugged. “Not tonight, Mom. Okay?”
“Sure,” she said. “But you watch Joey and Sarah, all right? I’ll take Laura.”
Her three-year-old daughter had a lot of energy, and Cara found her riding toy. Even though it was cold, the child could ride alongside her for one block without it bothering her. It would be good for both of them. She took the child’s hand and together they left the apartment.
Once outside Cara and Laura had not traveled far when the child no longer wanted her riding toy. Cara sighed and picked up the toy. As she did, she glanced behind her. She was only about half a block from home, and suddenly she saw Joey and Sarah walking up the street. They were acting sneaky, darting in and out of the shadows as if they were trying to catch up to their mother and surprise her, so Cara decided to play along.
Turning back toward the direction she’d been walking in, she and Laura continued down the street. When they reached the intersection, Cara turned around and looked for them again. This time she didn’t see them.
“Hmm,” she said out loud, and Laura looked up at her.
“C’mon, Mommy,” the child said. “Walk.”
Cara stood unmoving, staring back toward her house and straining to see the children. She wondered if perhaps they had gotten scared of the dark and decided to go back home. Then the thought occurred to her that perhaps someone had snatched them. The neighborhood was often a frightening place, and crimes were committed around them each day. Suddenly Cara began to panic.
“Sarah!” she called out. “Joey!”
There was no response and Cara could feel herself actually shaking in fear. Quickly she turned around, tightened her grip on Laura’s hand, and began heading back toward the apartment.
As they walked, Cara noticed a man across the street who was headed in the same direction. Cara wondered where he had come from, since the few times she had looked back to check her children she hadn’t noticed him. Although she was preoccupied with finding Joey and Sarah, Cara noticed that the man across the street kept looking at them. Since she did not recognize him as someone who lived in the neighborhood, Cara began to be suspicious of the man and picked up her pace, sweeping Laura into her arms. In one hand she held the riding toy and decided she would use it in self-defense if necessary.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Laura asked, aware of her mother’s nervousness.
“Nothing, honey. We’re going home now.”
As Cara and her daughter neared the corner of her apartment building, the man began crossing the street at an angle headed in their direction. Terror raced through Cara’s body, and she wondered if she could reach her apartment in time if he tried to accost them.
At that instant a thought came to Cara.
Pretend you see your father at the front door and talk to him, a voice seemed to say.
Instantly Cara acted on the suggestion.
“Hi, Dad!” she yelled, waving in the direction of her apartment, still four units away. “Have you seen the kids?”
Almost at once the man who had been headed straight for her turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. Cara breathed a sigh of relief. She had tricked him into thinking that her father was really at the door.
Cara ran up her apartment steps and dashed inside. Her fears alleviated, Cara saw Joey and Sarah on the floor watching television as they had been when she left.
“Why’d you guys come back home?” she asked. “Did something scare you? What?”
The children looked blankly at their mother and then at each other. “What do you mean?” Joey asked.
“You were outside, following me. I saw you. Why’d you come back inside?”
Colin looked at his mother then and shook his head.
“Mom, they’ve been right here the whole time,” he said simply. “They didn’t want to go, remember?”
“That’s impossible,” she said, moving slowly toward the chair. “I saw you both. Following behind us, and when I couldn’t see you anymore, I turned around.”
Then Cara remembered the strange man. For the next thirty minutes she tried to explain to Colin about the man and how threatened she had felt.
“Mom, maybe the kids you saw were angels and the only way they knew to get you to come back home was to make themselves look like Joey and Sarah. You know, Christmas angels.”
Cara stared at her son. She had been thinking the same thing, but was afraid she’d sound crazy. But why not? Wouldn’t it have been fitting for God to use angels who looked like her kids? Her precious children.
“I don’t know, son. But I’m sure I saw the kids outside tonight.”
Cara told everyone who would listen about the story of what happened on her walk, but it wasn’t until later that she came to believe without a doubt that a miracle had occurred that night. It turned out that the man who had been trailing her was an escaped felon from the state prison. Until his recapture, he carried a gun, robbing people in Cara’s neighborhood at gunpoint.
“I believe he intended to rob me, and then kill me and Laura,” Cara told her friend later. “And by some Christmas miracle, God directed two children who looked just like mine to lead me back to safety while my children were inside the apartment the whole time. It must be a miracle because things like that don’t just happen.”
Unexpected
Christmas
Package
Scott and Julianne were sixteen when they met while attending high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. That day the b
londe, blue-eyed teenager was running late for class. When she walked into Scott’s homeroom he pretended to faint and fell off his chair onto the floor.
If Scott’s introductory act did not win Julie’s heart, it definitely caught her attention. For the next few years until graduation the two were an item, attending dances together and building a very special kind of friendship.
“One day you’ll be wearing my ring, Julie,” Scott would tell her. “And then you’ll be mine forever.”
Julianne would laugh the way only a teenage girl can and bow her head bashfully. “Oh, Scott! That’s such a long way off.”
But after high school Scott began commuting by bus to a job at a meatpacking plant some distance from his home and the couple lost track of each other. For two years they neither saw nor heard from each other.
Then, shortly after her twentieth birthday, Julianne was tidying her parents’ house when the phone rang.
“I still say you’ll wear my ring one day, Julie,” the caller said.
“Scott Tschirgi!” She could hardly believe he had called after such a long time. “I thought you forgot about me.”
Scott began his courtship by passing by Julie’s house each night and serenading her with his harmonica. Julie was thrilled with his renewed interest and almost overnight the relationship between them grew until they knew they could never be apart. A year later, on February 24, Scott made good on his promise and placed a small gold band on Julie’s hand in a wedding ceremony attended by dozens of friends and family.
“This isn’t the ring I want you to wear,” Scott told Julie shortly before the wedding date. “But it will have to do until I can afford to buy you the one you’ll wear forever.”
Two years later, Julie’s mother and her best friend died in a single-car accident. After the funeral, Julie’s father tearfully approached Julie and Scott. In his hand was the wedding ring worn by Julie’s mother for three decades. “She told me once if anything ever happened to her she wanted you to have it.”