Member-only story
Annie’s Little Christmas Miracle
How a seven-year-old saved Christmas for her entire family.
One Christmas, when a friend of mine was down on her luck, a stranger rang her doorbell. She opened the door and was amazed to find a Christmas tree deposited on her doorstep. I was thinking about that one year, as I baked cookies for my four children. We were struggling and broke, and there wasn’t any Christmas tree at our house. I was wondering if anyone would remember us — like they remembered my friend. I was hoping for a miracle.
It was mid-December and already snow glistened on all the lawns. The front door slammed and seven-year-old Annie came in; her brown ponytail swinging. She was bubbling over with excitement.
“Mom, they’re having a coloring contest and I’m entering it.”
“That’s wonderful, Annie.” I placed a tray of cookies in the oven.
“The garden center in town is sponsoring it.”
Annie was our third child, our family artist, who spent hours cheerfully coloring with crayons and markers as she filled sketchbooks with her original creations. “I hope I win the prize.”
“What’s the prize?”
“I think it's money. When I win the contest, we’ll go to the craft store to buy supplies to make Billy, Michelle, and…
