Real Story - Christmas miracle

Is the title of today's inspirational message.

This is a real Christmas miracle story, happened

in December 1997 in Wisconsin, USA.

A little girl named Sarah had leukemia and was

not expected to live to see Christmas. Her

brother and grandmother went to the mall to

ask Mark Lenonard who was a professional

Santa Claus to visit the hospital to give Sarah

the gift of hope through encouragement and

paryer.

A year later Sarah surprised Santa by showing

up at the mall where he worked. Here goes the

story.

A little boy and his grandmother came to see

Santa at The Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin. The

child climbed up on santa’s lap, holding a

picture of a little girl.

“Who is this?” – asked Santa, smiling. “Your

friend? Your sister?”

“Yes, Santa.” – he replied.

“My sister, Sarah, who is very sick.” – he said

sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was

waiting nearby and saw her dabbing her eyes

with a tissue.

“She wanted to come with me to see you, oh,

so very much, Santa!” – the child exclaimed.

“She misses you.” – he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a

smile to the boy’s face, asking him what he

wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.

When they finished their visit, the grandmother

came over to help the child off his lap, and

started to say something to Santa, but halted.

“What is it?” – Santa asked warmly.

“Well, I know it’s really too much to ask you,

Santa, but ..” – the old woman began, shooing

her grandson over to one of Santa’s elves to

collect the little gift which Santa gave all his

young visitors.

“The girl in the photograph… my granddaughter

well, you see … she has leukemia and isn’t

expected to make it even through the holidays.”

– she said through tear-filled eyes.

“Is there anyway, Santa, any possible way that

you could come see Sarah? That’s all she’s

asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa.”

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the

woman to leave information with his elves as to

where Sarah was, and he would see what he

could do. Santa thought of little else the rest of

that afternoon. He knew what he had to do.

“What if it were MY child lying in that hospital

bed, dying?” – he thought with a sinking heart,

“This is the least I can do.”

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys

and girls that evening, he retrieved from his

helper the name of the hospital where Sarah

was staying. He asked Rick, the assistant

location manager how to get to Children’s

Hospital.

“Why?” – Rick asked, with a puzzled look on

his face.

Santa relayed to him the conversation with

Sarah’s grandmother earlier that day.

“Common….I’ll take you there.” – Rick said

softly. Rick drove them to the hospital and

came inside with Santa. They found out which

room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would

wait out in the hall.

Santa quietly peeked into the room through the

half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the

bed.

The room was full of what appeared to be her

family; there was the grandmother and the girl’s

brother he had met earlier that day. A woman

whom he guessed was Sarah’s mother stood

by the bed, gently pushing Sarah’s thin hair off

her forehead.

And another woman who he discovered later

was Sarah’s aunt, sat in a chair near the bed

with a weary, sad look on her face. They were

talking quietly, and Santa could sense the

warmth and closeness of the family, and their

love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on

his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a

hearty, “Ho, ho, ho!”

“Santa!” – shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she

tried to escape her bed to run to him.

Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm

hug. A child the tender age of his own son — 9

years old — gazed up at him with wonder and

excitement.

Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore

telltale bald patches from the effects of

chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked

at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart

melted, and he had to force himself to choke

back tears.

Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah’s

face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing

of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept

quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing

Santa’s shoulder or his hand gratefully,

whispering “Thank you” as they gazed sincerely

at him with shining eyes.

Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told

him excitedly all the toys she wanted for

Christmas, assuring him she’d been a very

good girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in

his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for

permission from the girl’s mother. She nodded

in agreement and the entire family circled

around Sarah’s bed, holding hands.

Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if

she believed in angels, “Oh, yes, Santa… I do!”

– she exclaimed.

“Well, I’m going to ask that angels watch over

you.” – he said.

Laying one hand on the child’s head, Santa

closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that God

touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this

disease.

He asked that angels minister to her, watch and

keep her. And when he finished praying, still

with eyes closed, he started singing, softly,

“Silent Night, Holy Night…. all is calm, all is

bright…”

The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling

at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy

for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all.

When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of

the bed again and held Sarah’s frail, small

hands in his own.

“Now, Sarah,” – he said authoritatively, “you

have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on

getting well. I want you to have fun playing with

your friends this summer, and I expect to see

you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next

year!”

He knew it was risky proclaiming that to this

little girl who had terminal cancer, but he ‘had’

to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could

— not dolls or games or toys — but the gift of

HOPE.

“Yes, Santa!” – Sarah exclaimed, her eyes

bright. He leaned down and kissed her on the

forehead and left the room.

Out in the hall, the minute Santa’s eyes met

Rick’s, a look passed between them and they

wept unashamed.

Sarah’s mother and grandmother slipped out of

the room quickly and rushed to Santa’s side to

thank him.

“My only child is the same age as Sarah.” – he

explained quietly. “This is the least I could do.”

They nodded with understanding and hugged

him.

One year later, Santa Mark was again back on

the set in Milwaukee for his six-week, seasonal

job which he so loves to do. Several weeks

went by and then one day a child came up to

sit on his lap.

“Hi, Santa! Remember me?!”

“Of course, I do.” – Santa proclaimed (as he

always does), smiling down at her. After all, the

secret to being a ‘good’ Santa is to always

make each child feel as if they are the ‘only’

child in the world at that moment.

“You came to see me in the hospital last year!”

Santa’s jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang

in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle

and held her to his chest.

“Sarah!” – he exclaimed. He scarcely

recognized her, for her hair was long and silky

and her cheeks were rosy — much different from

the little girl he had visited just a year before.

He looked over and saw Sarah’s mother and

grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving

and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa

Claus.

He had witnessed –and been blessed to be

instrumental in bringing about — this miracle of

hope. This precious little child was healed.

Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked

up to Heaven and humbly whispered, “Thank

you, Father. ‘This a very, Merry Christmas!”

Author

Susan Morton Leonard, Santa’s wife

Santa’s name: Mark Leonard or San