The Easter Miracle, a short story for
children..1/6/2018
The
weather was unusually cool for April, April 1st, that is, and this
April 1st was not only “April Fools” day, but on this April 1st,
it was also Easter Sunday.
(And
wouldn’t you think that Easter Sunday would be a lot more observed and
important than “April Fools” day?)
Audrey,
Tammi, and their good playmate-friend, Millie, were getting all dressed up prim
and proper by their mothers to attend church services; the Catholics too, would
attend Mass on that special day when, that once-little-baby, Jesus, had all
grown up then died for everyone so that one day they may be with Him forever.
Even
Jewish parents and their families (that attended synagogue the day before on
Saturday), would allow their children to participate in that once- a-year event
known as the Easter Egg Hunt, held at the Washington Memorial Park, named in
honor of our first president, George Washington.
But one
of their other little friends, Missy, was not allowed to play with them because
her dad had been arguing with Audrey’s dad, over the last couple of weeks,
about a rose bush right smack on the property line that separated their homes
in the quaint little town of Westminster (Vermont), just a hop, skip, and a
jump over the border from New Hampshire.
“Funny,”
how some grownups can argue over a silly little rose bush! But argue they did!
Missy
was very disappointed, of course, not being able to be with her friends, but
her father, Bill, wasn’t about to lose this argument with Roger (Audrey’s dad).
To Bill
and Roger, it was the principal of the thing: on whose property was that tiny
rose bush growing?
Bill and
Roger broke out the property maps that the town provided, along with the surveyor’s
maps thinking that they were precise and exact, so they thought.
Both
dads said that the rose bush was on each of their properties.
But how
could that be?
It
couldn’t! That’s how!
So,
either Bill or Roger was wrong!
Or!
Maybe
the surveyor’s lines were wrong?
In any
event, as usually happens in such crazy arguments, the children suffer. Fortunately, the only “suffering” was not
being able to have Missy sit with them at church.
Even
though both dads knew that the little bush was a rose bush, it hadn’t blossomed
because of the unusually cool – some might call it cold – temperatures for that
time of year. In fact, many other flower-
and fruit-bearing bushes hadn’t bloomed either also because of the lower than
normal temperatures. Even the trees were
far behind in budding their new leaves! After
church services, the families were going to a community brunch (a combination
of breakfast and lunch!) to break the fasting of the night before.
Even at
the community brunch, it was obvious that Bill and Roger’s families purposely
sat apart from each other: one family occupied a table at the far end of the
hall away from where the other family was sitting!
After
all, which one was going to “give in” first?
“Not
me,” thought Bill; “Not me,” thought Roger!
It seems
that pride can get in the way of an awful lot of things!
When
Missy asked her mom and dad if she could explore the dessert table and look for
a delicious piece of homemade apple pie, they said: “Sure! And if you find two, bring that back
too!” The second piece of pie was for
her dad. It seems Missy’s mom was on a
diet, and didn’t want the temptation of sitting right next to her husband
seeing him devour a luscious piece of wonderful smelling apple pie! Come to think of it, she had no choice,
unless she wanted to sit somewhere else, away from her husband!
But
Missy had additional plans by going to the dessert table: getting the attention
of Audrey, Tammi and Millie sitting pretty darn close to that very same dessert
table.
The
“plan” worked!
Soon,
the four friends met – even for only a few minutes – and hugged, and said how
much they missed each other and prayed that their dads would get over this
silly disagreement about the rose bush.
The
brief get-together ended; Missy returned with not one, but two pieces of
delicious, lovingly made apple pie, one for herself, and one for her dad…
Well,
eventually the brunch ended, and those families attending the festivities slowly
started to leave the community center, and headed in the direction of the
Washington Memorial Park to participate in the-always-fun Easter Egg Hunt…
Again,
this played right into the hands of the four young girls, as the signal to
start “the hunt” was given, Audrey, Tammi, and Millie knew exactly where to go
to meet Missy just out of sight of their parents. Not that they were doing anything wrong, it’s
just that they were good friends and loved each other very much. It was difficult for them to be separated,
not knowing how long this dispute with their dads was going to last!
The
girls found some of the Easter Eggs and deposited them into their little
baskets to show their parents how hard-working and successful they were in the
“hunt”.
Now,
even though Roger and Bill were at odds with each other, the moms were just a
little less concerned about on whose property that little rose bush
resided. Plus, they figured that the
girls would find a way to stay in touch, especially at the egg hunt. But kept such knowledge to themselves; not a
peep to their husbands!
Plus, they figured that
this silly feud couldn’t last too much longer; they were right. Not because they could see into the future;
nobody can, but events were going to take place that even they could not have
imagined…
After about an hour and a
half, all the eggs had been found and presented, and the contest winners
announced. As soon as the prizes were
presented (Millie was one of the winners!), the moms and dads, boys and girls
started to slowly depart the park and headed back to their homes for some more
family fun and games, knowing that the next day, it was school-time as usual;
back to studying, reading, writing and arithmetic…
It just so happened that
Roger and Bill pulled into their driveways almost at the same time, so the
girls were able to wave a last goodbye before entering their homes.
But wait!
Something was different
about that little disputed rose bush…
As they parked their
cars, they noticed that the rose bush had many big, bright, rosy-red roses
sprouting all around it!
But that can’t be!
Just a couple of hours
ago, that bush was all closed up; no buds, no flowers, due to the colder than usual
temperatures.
What was going on here,
they thought to themselves…
Both families were
standing there in amazement. Staring at
that beautiful rose bush, unable to explain what they were seeing right in
front of them.
Soon, more folks started
to gather at their property, they too were amazed, unable to explain what they
were experiencing…
Word quickly spread
through the small town…
The
local radio station was tipped-off about the phenomenon of the beautiful,
little rose bush, and soon broadcast the fantastic, seemingly unbelievable
news!
The tiny
town newspaper – the Westminster Gazette – heard about the excitement, and sent
a reporter to gather any information they could, hoping to get a “scoop” for the
next day’s publication…
I could
see the headlines now: “The rose bush that could”!
Was this
a “miracle”?
But who
believes in miracles these days?
Both
Roger and Bill slowly approached the little rose bush, standing on either side
of it, being careful not to step onto the others property.
Heaven
forbid!
Soon,
Audrey, Tammi, and Millie approached from their side of the property; and Missy
approached from her side, standing less than two feet apart…
Roger
was the first to speak: “Bill, have you ever seen anything like this before?”
“No,
Roger, I can’t explain this; doesn’t make sense…
“Just an
hour or two ago, there was nothing here but a rose bush with no buds; no
flowers. I just can’t figure this one
out.”
“I
wonder if someone is trying to tell us something,” said Roger.
“I think
we ought to take good care of this little miracle rose bush, regardless on
whose property it’s on…”
“I
agree, Bill…”
Bill
spoke next…
“Roger,
I feel pretty stupid about arguing about this rose bush; I apologize.”
“Me too,
Bill; I apologize.”
The two
dads shook hands and wished each other a Happy Easter…
All the
girls were as happy as could be that their dads made up and shook hands! Now they could be real friends again!
And you
just witnessed the real miracle of the little rose bush that could!
The
End
E. DeLalla
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