T'was the week before Christmas and all through our house,
All the creatures were stirring, including the mouse.
T'was the week before Christmas and all through our house,
All the creatures were stirring, including the mouse.
Daniel's appointment in Lexington was approaching, it was time
again to go,
But with the new baby brother just born a week ago,
This Grandma would soon know.
I would make the trip with Daniel this time and much to my
delight,
Looked forward to what turned out to be a very fanciful flight.
In the early morning darkness of foggy and cold,
Up roared the Shriner's van sparkling like a chariot of gold.
Out jumped the drivers of this magical sleigh
Who warmly introduced themselves as Ted and Ray.
They were jolly and plump, quite lively for old elves,
And I had a feeling they had lots of crazy stories to tell!
My daughter had warned me about these colorful guys,
She said, "You can't tell whether their stories are truth or lies!"
"They're wild and they're crazy, it reads like mythical
lore,
But if it's all really true, well, mom, you'd better sit close to the door!"
We boarded that old famous van with haste,
Got buckled up and felt warm and safe.
Daniel, the magical child we had the great of privilege of
escorting,
Had an appointment at 10:30 with doctors whom we had to be reporting.
So North through the morning darkness we silently sped;
The gentle hum of the tires made a sound like a sled.
I dreamed I was flying on the wings of a dove
To a place where people give each other unconditional love.
With a jolt I awoke, it was no longer night and
A Cracker Barrel breakfast of coffee, eggs and grits was a wonderful sight.
Then on to Shriner's Hospital, if you want to call it that;
It looked more like a 5-star hotel sitting atop a rising flat.
The interior was even more impressive to see
With state-of-the-art equipment and a love-the-children psychology.
In this grand palace where special children reign supreme,
I realized that in the van it had not been a dream.
This place embodied the love of God's heart and
The Shriner's have created a divine way to fulfill their part.
Whereby being in the total service of giving,
They have built a sacred alliance with all of the living.
No healing can possibly ever happen without love,
The Shriner's have provided this space as if guided from above.
With our visit complete, Daniel has a new fangled, cosmic brace
to wear, yet,
Somehow, now, it doesn't feel like such a heavy cross to bear.
After a quick stop for a BIG bowl of beans and cornbread,
I had a warm, contented feeling of being loved and well-fed.
As the highway lines disappeared silently under the van,
My thoughts drifted again to God's love for man.
Then, Ray's driving became jerky and Ted navigated with dismay
because
SUDDENLY, instead of the van, they were driving a sleigh!
The reindeers were harnessed with precision ahead
As we flew like the wind over the children below, nestled snug in their beds.
My logical mind tried to figure out how such a miraculous feat
of defying gravity could be done by these two crazy chiefs.
You know, Shriner's offer many wondrous scenes, but
To create that sleigh flying from the gas of those beans!
They had eaten a lot AND with the stories they tell
Had created a wind that was mightier than . . . the whole Spirit of Christmas!
But I heard them exclaim as we flew into the night,
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!
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