Roses For Mum

by: C.W. McCall, Source Unknown

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."

The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose." He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, cancelled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

The Mountain

There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them back up into the mountains.
The lowlanders didn't know how to climb the mountain. They didn't know any of the trails that the mountain people used, and they didn't know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain.
Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home.
The men tried first one method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail and then another. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only several hundred feet.
Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below.
As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby's mother walking toward them. They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they hadn't figured out how to climb.
And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be?
One man greeted her and said, "We couldn't climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, couldn't do it?"
She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It wasn't your baby."

The Christmas Shoes

I was not able to watch the movie, but the book made me cry. Definitely one of my most favorite stories of all time...

It was almost Christmas time,
there I stood in another line.
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two,
not really in the Christmas mood.
Standing right in front of me,
was a little boy waiting anxiously.
Pacing 'round like little boys do.
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes...

His clothes were worn and old,
he was dirty from head to toe.
And when it came his time to pay,
I couldn't believe what I heard him say.

Sir, I want to buy these shoes,
for my Mama, please...
It's Christmas Eve...
and these shoes are just her size...
Could you hurry, Sir,
Daddy says there's not much time...
You see she's been sick for quite a while...
And I know these shoes,
would make her smile.
And I want her to look beautiful,
if Mama meets Jesus tonight...

He counted pennies
for what seemed like years
Then the cashier said,
"Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets frantically.
Then he turned and he looked at me...
He said Mama made Christmas good at our house.
Though most years she just did without.
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her
these Christmas shoes.

So I laid the money down,
I just had to help him out...
I'll never forget the look on his face,
when he said...
Mama's gonna look so great...

Sir, I want to buy these shoes,
for my Mama, please...
It's Christmas Eve...
and these shoes are just her size.
Could you hurry, Sir,
Daddy says there's not much time...
You see she's been sick for quite a while.
And I know these shoes,
would make her smile.
And I want her to look beautiful,
if Mama meets Jesus tonight...

I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about...