“THE WHITE ENVELOPE—HOW OUR FAMILY LEARNED THE GIFT OF GIVING”a story about the true meaning of the Christmas spirit PLUS a short heart warming Christmas movie
A wonderful story in our special series…DAYS OF MAGICAL and MIRACULOUS CHRISTMAS STORIES for children of all ages WITH a sweet Audible Podcast version narrated by Chinmayan
This is our WEEKDAY edition of THE DAWNING LIGHT NEWS # 1240
Our FREE version of our “Daily Journal of Transformational Writing”
CHILD PEACE STORIES Section # 32
Inspiring READ ALOUD STORIES for children of all ages…
Selected, edited and published by Chinmayan…May your Christmas be bright, loving and full of kindness and miracles of every kind as these magical stories for you and your family and everyone on earth!
All images in this story courtesy of Pixabay
ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL SERIES OF “CHILD PEACE STORIES”TO CELEBRATE THE LOVING HEART OF THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
To celebrate this Christmas Holiday season,
we are launching a special series of magical and miraculous stories
That are perfect for READING ALOUD to children of all ages
With the publishing of 22 “Child Peace” stories, one for
Each day until Christmas Day.
I have been collecting these stories for a long time…
all from different authors, and different times…
All stories you probably have never heard of
But which are well written, powerfully heart opening and
Inspiring stories that will move you to tears….
These special stories about amazing acts of kindness,
Caring, compassion and Love have been carefully chosen
And edited by me to help you get into the Christmas spirit…
This series of mind blowingly good stories is our
Christmas Gift to our wonderful community of readers,
Subscribers and supporters and everyone who discovers them
Here in our newsletter and labor of Love “The Dawning Light”….
During these crazy and tormented times, and with all the
Fears and uncertainties about what our future will be like,
I feel it is vitally important to tap into the true meaning
And purpose of Christmas which to my mind and heart
Always is, always has been and always will be to open
Our hearts to share Love, Caring and compassion in
Daily life now and in all the days of change and challenge ahead!
A Wonderful story in our special series…DAYS OF MAGICAL and MIRACULOUS READ ALOUD CHRISTMAS STORIES for children of all ages…
The 13th story in our special series…
One great story everyday from now until Christmas Day!
THE WHITE ENVELOPE—HOW OUR FAMILY LEARNED THE GIFT OF GIVING
And The True Meaning and Power Of The Christmas Spirit
A true story by an Unknown Author
It’s just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree.
No name, no identification, no inscription.
It has peeked through the branches of our Christmas tree for the last ten years or so.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas… not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it—the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute for a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Granny.
The gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to by-pass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth.
I reached for doing something just for Mike.
The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son, Kevin, who was twelve that year, was on the wrestling team at the junior level at the school he attended shortly before Christmas. There was a wrestling match scheduled between Kevin’s team and a team sponsored by an inner-city church, that was mostly young black boys.
These youngsters came onto the court dressed in sneakers so ragged that the shoestrings were the only thing holding them together. They were a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see the other team was wrestling without headgear, which is a light helmet to protect the head and ears.
It was a luxury the rag-tag team just could not afford!
We ended up walloping the team and defeated them in every weight class.
As each of the boys got up off the mat, after losing the match, he swaggered in his tattered shoes and ragged clothes with false bravado in a kind of street pride that couldn’t acknowledge defeat.
Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly. “I wish just one of them could have won at least one match. They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”
Mike loved kids. All kids, and he understood them, having coached little league, football, baseball and lacrosse for many years.
That is when the idea for the present came.
That afternoon, I went to the sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear, and shoes for every kid on that team and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church in time to be Christmas gifts.
On Christmas-eve, I placed the first white envelope on the tree, with a note inside telling Mike what I had done, and that this was his gift from me.
His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and the succeeding years since.
For from then on, as each Christmas drew near and the Christmas spirit grew stronger and stronger, I have followed that tradition.
One year it was sending a group of mentally handicapped to a hockey game… another year sending a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home burnt down the week before Christmas, and on and on…always fulfilling a need for others in some big way, but anonymously.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas every year.
It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our Children, ignoring their new toys and all the other presents they were getting, would stand wide eyed in anticipation as their Dad would reach for the envelope and reveal its contents.
As the children grew up, the toys gave way to more practical gifts, but the envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn’t end there.
You see, we lost Mike last year.
When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped up in grief, that I didn’t feel like celebrating anything, but for my children’s sake, I managed to barely get the tree up.
But there I was on Christmas-eve placing that envelope high up in the branches as my gift to honor and remember Mike.
When I came down in the morning my envelope had been joined by three others!
Each of our children, unbeknownst to me and each other, had placed an envelope on the tree for their Dad.
The tradition has grown and will someday expand even further with our grandchildren standing around their own tree in anticipation as their fathers take down the envelope.
In this way. because of our family’s tradition of anonymous giving to others in need, Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit which brings such joy to our world, will always be with us!
Calligraphy by Chinmayan
A BEAUTIFULLY HEARTWARMING SHORT FILM about family traditions and passing on a grandfather’s legacy at Christmas time….
THE SANCTUARY…A Short Film About Family Traditions At CHRISTMAS TIME
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“What Christmas is all about is the birth of Christ in each of our hearts as we focus on giving and loving and caring—and making this world a place for the power of Love to overcome our self centered smallness so all can live in peace, harmony and happiness”
—Yeshe Gyamtso
