Free Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas by Jack Canfield Page B

of giving—of secret giving. The faith of children in something they can’t fathom.
    The thanks they give to something unseen.
    Sure, Santa could stand to lose a few pounds—so could I. But somehow the vision of a trim St. Nick in red bicycle shorts just doesn’t cut it.
    Elva Stoelers

Reprinted by permission of Off the Mark and Mark Parisi. © 2007 Mark Parisi.

4
THE JOY
OF GIVING
    L ove is, above all, the gift of oneself.
    Jean Anouilh

The Greatest Christmas Gift
    The sights, the sounds, the treats, the joys!
Yes, Christmas is for girls and boys.
Yet even someone threescore ten
At Christmas is a child again,
Filled with thrills and wild delight
Each and every Christmas night.
    I love the stockings, candles, tree,
Songs, and hospitality.
But most of all, I must confess,
I love God’s Gift of Righteousness,
Wrapped in a manger filled with hay
And placed in my heart with love to stay—
The greatest Gift of Christmas Day!
    Bonnie Compton Hanson

Christmas Spirit
    T he only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.
    Helen Keller
    The line of disgruntled customers snaked around the counter and disappeared somewhere in the menswear department. There were just two more shopping days before Christmas, and most of the shoppers in line were in panic mode, coiling to strike. One of those customers was my husband, Dale.
    Dale is one of those people who shop better under pressure. They are the no-nonsense shoppers who depend on fast service because every minute counts as the countdown before Christmas continues. But the service here was anything but fast.
    The problem was the elderly lady at the front of the line, who was twittering happily to the lone salesgirl manning the cash register.
    â€œThis sweater is for my granddaughter,” the lady explained. “She’s going to be a teacher, you know. And she’s doing very well. She has a very nice boyfriend who is an architectural technician. He’s just started a job with a good company, but you know, we haven’t seen any sign of a ring yet. Young people seem to wait so long these days. They’ve been going out for quite a while now. Why, I was married with one child and another one on the way when I was her age.”
    On and on she rattled as she painstakingly counted out her change, oblivious to the writhing serpent of customers behind her. When she finally zipped her purse shut and picked up her parcel, the clerk motioned to the man next in line.
    â€œThank you, dearie,” said the lady as she started to move slowly away, checking the contents of her shopping bag. She was almost to the end of the counter when suddenly she turned back. “Oops! Excuse me,” she cried. A collective hiss went down the line. Several fangs were bared. An ominous rattle of keys began in someone’s pocket.
    â€œWhat’s this for?” she asked, holding up a piece of paper.
    â€œIt’s a discount coupon that will give you 15 percent off your next purchase here at the store, from now until the end of January,” replied the weary salesgirl.
    â€œWell, thank you, my dear, but I won’t be needing this,” she beamed. “Here, you can use it right now!” she said, handing it to the man next in line. The man’s eyes widened, and he mumbled a word of thanks as she shuffled to the door.
    Then an amazing thing happened. The man stepped up to the counter and used the coupon that the elderly lady had given him. When the clerk handed him another coupon for his next visit to the store, he promptly turned around and gave it to the woman in line behind him. After she had used that coupon toward her purchase and the clerk gave her another one, the woman then passed it back to the shopper behind her. By the time it was Dale’s turn, the salesclerk had a smile on her face, and so did Dale as he turned around to give his coupon to the lady behind him. And so it went, on down the line until