Nathan was 7 years old when he first walked into The Manger, GraceWorks’ Christmas gift event.
To prevent him from seeing the gifts his parents were choosing for his Christmas, his mother sent him over to a section of children’s books. She had taught him to love to read as she did, and she knew he would be completely absorbed in words and pictures.
She was right. Nathan’s face lit up when he saw the selection and soon he was sitting on the floor deeply immersed in the Berenstain Bears adventures.
Julie was a bit younger when at 3 years old she had her own face-lighting experience at The Manger. She loved picture books, but her eye was immediately taken with several shelves of stuffed animals.
She picked up nearly each one, hugged and cuddled it and put it back. Several minutes and cuddles later, she decided on a pink fluffy kitten exactly matching her pink jacket.
Both these stories happened a few years ago. Now, we do encourage parents to come without their children to better protect the surprise of Christmas morning.
GraceWorks has received plenty of toys for this year’s Manger. However, not enough books and stuffed animals have been donated to give each child one of each.
Toys are critical for Christmas morning, but books and stuffed animals are in a different category. Both are sources of comfort, enjoyment, learning and escape from worry.
“The more that your read, the more things you will know,” said Dr. Suess. “The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Not only is reading an important life skill, but books bring unknown friends to a lonely child.
Snuggling with a stuffed animal teaches the wonder of love and gives security in the dark of night.
“In a world where everyone seems to be larger and louder than yourself, it is very comforting to have a small, quiet companion,” from an unknown writer.
Please consider donating a book or a fluffy animal to The Manger, which will be Dec. 13-16. GraceWorks’ Amazon wish list can be found HERE.