Twelve Days of Sharing

By Jeff Taylor

Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts (Ps. 90:12).

One Christmastime my friends and I decided to secretly do the “Twelve Days of Sharing” for a special woman. She loved little children, served in the Primary nursery, and gave out cookies to children in the neighborhood. But she was alone in her home for Christmas.

On December 14 we gave her a small, decorated Christmas tree with little birds on it. We left it on her porch, then hid in the bushes so that we could see the look on her face when she saw it. She looked all around but couldn’t see us. We waited until she went back inside before we ran home.

The second night we gave her two silver bird whistles. The third night we gave her a gallon of apple cider. Each day we gave her something different, and each day we couldn’t wait to see the different expressions on her face. Sometimes she looked concerned about opening the door, but she was always happy to find something there for her.

One night it was so cold and snowy that we thought about not going. But we knew that she would be disappointed—and we would have been too. We climbed over the fence and headed toward the front porch. I had just put the plate of cookies on the step, rung the doorbell, and started to run to my hiding place, when I heard her door opening. I slipped and fell head first into the bushes. Although I was pretty well covered with snow I was still surprised that she didn’t see me. I couldn’t keep from laughing as I headed home.

The Twelve Days of Sharing were special days to my friends and me. Later I overheard her say that that Christmas was one of the best that she had ever had.

Illustration by Shauna Mooney