The tree: A real Christmas treasure

For hundreds of years the sprites of Christmas have been a joyous bond to bring family, friends, and strangers closer together during this most festive season of the year. These moments are made deeper and warmer by telling stories of Christmas and its meaning. As a little girl I remember one memorable Christmas. I received a small baby doll. She was the most beautiful doll; she had blue eyes like mine, and brown hair, and a green dress just like mine.

As I grew, I wanted to know these special things about Christmas. I was told the story of baby Jesus, and how he came to earth to save us from sin, and how the three wise men came to visit him bringing great gifts.

One day I asked grandmother, in that story of The New Born King why they never mention a Christmas tree.

Grandmother replied, "Well honey its like this."

And then the child said, "Where did Santa learn how to fly the sleigh with reindeers, and how does he know where to find kids? Does he have a super conducting quantum interference device to detect the minute magnetic field generated by the grackle of the brain?"

"Where did you learn that from child?"

"Well grandmother, television."

"Come and sit down beside me and I will tell you a story worth remembering. Long ago, I read a wonderful Christmas story of another wise man, and I enjoyed that story so much that it stayed with me forever. So I want to tell you, so you can tell it to your children and their children. As you know, the story starts with the voyage of the three wisemen of the east, who traveled afar. A star guided them to the newborn King lying in a manger. Well, there was also a fourth wise man, which I never knew of. But this man also saw the star of the east, and set off on a long journey to join the other wise man that were bearing great gifts to the Baby King. The other three wise men had no trouble finding their way to Bethlehem, but the fourth wise man had nothing but trouble getting there. First he met a sick man in desert dying, so he stopped to help the sick man. This delayed him from meeting up with the other three wise men. Then he missed the newborn King in the manger and the First magical Christmas, but he kept on traveling. The fourth wise man gave away one of the gifts that was intended for the newborn child in order to save another child, by Herods command to die. Day after day he would stop to minister to the sick, and visit the imprisoned, and feed the poor.

As the story ends, this fourth wise man was tired and he sat to rest. He realizes his journey was long and it had been thirty three long years. He then traveled to a small town where he discovers that the son of God, whom he had set out to find, had to be condemned to die on the cross. He thinks of his very last possession, a pearl that will buy his freedom. But on his way, he met a woman who has been threatened and needs money for her fathers debt, again he offer the pearl as ransom for her life. Now the forth wise man has nothing. All that was intended for the King was given to humanity. That day the fourth wise man was resting, and there was a big earthquake due to the crucifixion of Jesus. From the side of the hill, rocks fell and hit the wise man. Now the wise man knew he was going to die and without seeing the Lord. But as he laid dying, he heard a faint voice from off in the distance.

"Verily Verily I say unto you, in so much as thou hast done unto one of least of my brethren, thou hast done unto me."

Hearing this, the fourth wise man dies with the happy knowledge that his gifts were received by the Lord. At last do you understand child! Child, you thought the wise man was not wise at all for missing his chance to witness the First Christmas, for giving away all his life possessions, for having spent his entire life ministering to others. It all became clear, the fourth wise man was certainly the wisest and most worth of all the wise men. So child, keep this as a treasure and tell it to your children and their children."

So years passed, and I grew into a wonderful woman, and gave birth to four wonderful children. I could not wait to tell this story to my children. If you ever want to touch your child's heart at Christmas, read to them and tell them your stories of Christmas. It will lift them up, warm their hearts, and instill memories.

Cheryl Ann Fultz
Lodi