A Christmas Story

Far from the nearest town , our log cabin on a hill in rural Northern Alabama was nestled in a forest of evergreens -pine, cedar , holly and fir. It was home to many critters - wild turkey, guinea fowl, ducks, fox, squirrel, rabbits, possum and racoons, some of which ended up on the dinner table.

All summer long we preserved the many fruits and vegetables of our labor for the winter. The chickens gave us fresh eggs each day and fried chicken on Sundays, the cow fresh milk and the pigs bacon, sausage and smoked ham. Once a month we would travel to town to buy large sacks of cornmeal , flour, sugar and lard for our daily bread.

My two sisters and I went to church in town every Wednesday and Sunday. Younger sister Linda and I would say a special prayer every Christmas for the thing we wanted most : Snow. God please give us snow for Christmas this year. But our prayers went unanswered and we were beginning to wonder if what they taught in church was true.

I was ten and out of school for Christmas vacation. With no money to buy gifts we had to be very creative. I was sewed a sock doll for Linda , wove a bracelet for Wilma, and made handkerchiefs for Dad.

Each day I would go into the woods to get pine and holly to decorate the house. I also gathered hickory nuts, pecans, chestnuts and walnuts. We had a huge fireplace that heated the house and a crackling fire where we'd gather and read Christmas stories and the bible.

The night before Christmas Linda and I once again prayed for snow. We jumped in bed knowing full well that such a miracle would never happen.

Christmas morning we awoke to the smell of Wilma's bacon cooking as she called us to breakfast. Instead of the usual grits in the bowls on the table there was something very pure and white that looked a lot like ice cream. Linda and I both stammered in surprise : " Ice cream for Christmas ? " No, sillies, " Wilma replied, " Go look outside. "

We opened the door to a most wonderous sight. Every tree wore a sparkling dress of white . Snow ! I was beginning to think that it was something I'd only read about in books or see in movies like White Christmas that my brother took me to see.

Linda and I agreed that our first white christmas was the best we'd ever had and we were finally convinced that there was a God . It just took him longer to find us because we were way out in the country.