Outside of a town there was a retirement home
for elderly people. It was nearly christmas, and the old people were looking
forward to the christmas holidays. The one thing the old people liked about
christmas was they always felt that the Lord Jesus and Mother Mary were
watching over them.
The decorations were soon going up
and some of the elderly were making their own decorations out of paper and
things. Just then a nurse came in saying there was a problem. She presented a
nativity set, but this nativity set was old and it needed fixing up. “I don’t
think we can ever use this nativity set again” said the nurse. “I agree;” said
another nurse “the figurines have started to lose their colours and the stable
has some cracks on it. I suggest we get rid of this one and buy a new one”.
“Wait a moment please” said a voice.
The voice belonged to an old man
named Michael who lived in the retirement home. “I can easily fix this up with
a bit of paste and paint,” said Michael “so don’t throw it away please”. The
nurses looked at Michael. “Will you be able to do it Michael?” asked one of
them. “Just because I’m a retired old man does not mean I’ve lost my old touch”
said Micheal. Michael was an artist in his time; he did paintings and other
things like that. He was also good with making old things like figurines and
statues look new again after repainting them. “I’ve got all the stuff I need
for this in my room, all I need is quiet and some tea” said Michael. He kept
some of his old painting gear in his room to make it feel like his old home
which was a small art studio and house.
So Michael had the old nativity set
in his room and he got out the brushes and paints and paste he needed. “Let’s
get to work” he said. First Michael fixed the stable’s cracks with some paste
and once the paste dried he gave it a new coat of paint. Then he got to work
with repainting the figurines. Fixing the nativity set made Michael feel happy
because it was like the good old days for him. The nurses came to check in on
Michael from time to time to give him tea and make sure that he was okay and
not overworking himself. By the time Michael was finished it was Christmas Eve.
When the nurses saw the nativity set all fixed up and repainted they were
impressed. “It is like I said to you; I haven’t lost my old touch” said
Michael. The other residents were happy to see the nativity set all fixed up
too.
That night all the residents of the
retirement home gathered around the nativity set for praying. Some prayed for
their families and the rest prayed for being grateful for still being alive.
Michael prayed not only for his son and his family, but also because he was
grateful to have been given the chance to fix and repaint the nativity set like
he used to in the past.
When Michael finished his prayer he
saw a miracle happen before him. He saw the spirits of the real Lord Jesus,
Mary, Joseph and the three wise men. Funny thing was no one else saw them but
him. This was because Jesus was happy that Michael fixed the nativity set, so
Jesus was giving him his blessing. Michael felt really blessed to have been
able to see them and it was a night he would never forget for the rest of his
life.
