“Always remember the brightest light of all shines from a loving heart. ~ Plh”

And now I present to you a short inspirational holiday story I wrote several years ago and happily share with you. It can be read to children as it reminds us of the importance of giving. Please enjoy:

The Five Golden Orbs

The children found them hidden inside the bushes in the back yard just as the sun was setting. They noticed the glow of lights coming from within the small holly bush. Mystified, they walked slowly up to the shining bush and peered in through the holly leaves.

Five shining orbs of gold lay nestled, hidden in the crooks of the branches inside the bush.

“What are they?” The girl child asked.

“I don’t know!” The boy child answered.

They were curious and the glow coming from the shiny orbs was not scary. The emitting light was golden and soft.

The boy reached in and grabbed one of the orbs. It was warm to the touch. But not too warm, just pleasantly so. The girl seeing that the orb rested comfortably in the boy’s hand reached in and grabbed another orb. She held it close and stared at the swirling light shining from within.

“They are pretty, aren’t they?” She said.

“Yes, yes they are.” He replied. “Lets take the rest of them and go inside.” He didn’t wait for her answer, just reached inside the bush and pulled out two more. “You get the last one, but come on let’s hurry before anyone sees them.”

She followed his directions, first grabbing the last golden orb in her free hand and then hurrying after him as he ran into the house, carefully cradling the glowing orbs in his arms.

They walked through the hallway into the tiny living room and laid the golden balls on the wooden floor. The orbs were shining even brighter than before.

To the small boy and girl, sitting on the floor of the poorly lit living room, this glorious glow was a thrilling one. Their father was working late again but they knew he’d be home soon and would expect his meal laid out for him. The Christmas tree they had convinced him to bring home the day before stood dark and lonely in one corner of the room, on the other side was the table where they had laid out his bowl, cup and spoon. His soup was in the cooking pot waiting to be served.

The children looked from the orbs to the tree and got the same idea at the same time. Excitedly they grabbed up the glowing orbs and placed them in different places throughout the tree. Each ball settled into it’s spot as if it belonged there. When they were done, they stood back and looked at the Christmas tree. It was now lit up with a golden glow that cast away the shadows in the room and illuminated everything, making them feel like they were rich and not so very poor.

They stood there viewing the beautiful lit up tree and then the girl had a sudden thought. With a worried look on her face she turned to her brother and said, “What about Hanna?”

“What about her?” He answered.

“Well, it’s just that her cottage is so very dark, if we took one of these shiny orbs to her, she could place it somewhere in her room and be able to see better at night!”

“That’s true,” He said. “And you know that Bertha and Henry’s cottages, a little further away, have the same problem with not having much light in their homes.” And as the children talked they thought of two more neighbors who they could share the shiny light of their orbs with.

Hurrying quickly they removed the five orbs out of their Christmas tree and carried them down the lane to each of their needy neighbors who, with great pleasure and astonishment, accepted the gift of a brightly lit orb.

The children raced back to the house feeling good inside as they thought of the pleasure they had brought to their friends and neighbors.

They were silent and a little disappointed as they walked inside their hut, realizing they wouldn’t have a brightly lit tree to show their father. Still they did feel good about the gifts they had given. As they walked into the living area of their hut they stopped suddenly staring at the sight in front of them. Where they had expected a darkened tree was a magnificently glowing Christmas tree shining from top to bottom with a most wonderful golden radiance.

“But how can this be?” The little girl asked with wonder. “We gave the orbs away!”

The little boy shook his head, gazing in amazement at the beautiful sight in front of him. They both heard the front door open and their weary dad trudge into the house. Looking once more at their shiny golden tree, they then ran to greet their father and share this wonderful gift with him.

The tree shone brightly, the light following in the footsteps of two little children who, without realizing, had given and received the most perfect gift of all.

“When you give with love in your heart ~ your gift will return to you!” ~ Penny L Howe

~

Happy holidays to all,

Penny