CHRISTMAS
ON this particular morning Conrad the shoemaker rose very early, cleaned out his workshop, then went back into his living quarters and lighted a fire in the stove and set the table. He was not going to work. He was expecting company, a very special guest: God Himself. Last night God came to him in a dream and let him know that the following day he would come and be his guest.
So Conrad sat in the cozy room and waited, his heart filled with joy. He then heard some footsteps outside and a knock at the door. “There He is,” thought Conrad, running to the door and throwing it open.
But it was only the mailman. His face was red and his fingers blue from the cold. He looked longingly at the teapot on the stove. Conrad let him in door, poured him a cup of tea and let him warm himself near the stove. “Thanks,” said the postman. “That tea sure hit the spot.” And then he disappeared out into the cold.
As soon as he was gone, Conrad cleaned off the table again. Then he sat down near the window to see his guest coming. He was certain that one would soon come.
Suddenly he noticed a little boy with tears running down his cheeks. Conrad called him in and found out that the lad had lost his mother in town and had no way of finding his way back home. Then he wrote a note and left on the table. The note said, “Wait for me. I’ll be right back.” He then left the door open a bit and took the little boy by the hand and brought him home.
But that walk was longer than he thought it would be; in fact it was already getting dark when he got back home. He was shocked to find someone in his house looking out the window. But then his hear skipped a beat. This surely must be God, who had promised to come.
But Conrad recognized the person, the lady from the flat upstairs. She looked so sad and tired. She told him that she had not slept at all because her son Peter was sick. She did not know what to do any longer. The child lay there so still, his fever high, and he could no longer recognize his mother.
Conrad felt so sorry for her. There she was all alone with her son, living alone since her husband died in an accident.
So he went along with her. Together they wrapped Peter in a wet sheet. Conrad sat at the boy’s bedside, while the mother had a bit of a rest.
When he got back to his room, it was already past midnight. He was tired and completely disappointed as he threw himself into bed. The day was over. God had not come.
Suddenly he heard a voice. It was God’s voice saying, “Thanks, for letting Me warm Myself in your house today. Thanks for showing Me the way home. And thank for your encouragement and help. Conrad, I thank you that today I could be your guest.”
Note: Willi Hoffsuemmer – Taken from Fr. Frank Mihalic, SVD, 1000 STORIES YOU CAN USE – Volume One , Manila, Philippines: Divine Word Publications, 1989, pages 32-34.
