The Christmas Rose
Long ago wise men from the east studied the stars. They looked all over the heavens to find a sign that a special child would be born. This child would be called the King of Kings, Emmanuel, the Son of God. When the time was right, they traveled far until they came to a small town called Bethlehem. There, they saw the baby and gave him gifts.
They gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Everyone knows what gold is. It is a soft, precious metal that is used to make beautiful jewelry. People buy and sell it and use it as money.
Frankincense is a fragrant smelling oil. It can be used to make your skin soft, or to help you breathe better and for many other things. It was a valuable gift.
Myrrh was a powdery substance that looked like a crumbling rock. It was used to make perfume and to get rid of bad smells. Myrrh was made from the sap of special trees, but it was worth more than gold at the time of the Wise Men.
Many visitors came to see the Christ Child. After all, angels announced his birth on the night he was born. The shepherds were the first to leave their sheep and come to witness his birth. There were others also, including the Wise Men. But, one special visitor stayed outside and did not come in to see the Christ child. Her name was Madelyn.
Madelyn was a shepherd girl or shepherd maiden. She had seen others bring him gifts. Madelyn wanted to bring a gift also and felt very bad that she had no gift to give. So, she stayed outside weeping. Sad tears fell from her eyes.
She was poor and had no money to buy a gift. She had searched the countryside trying to find a simple flower to bring to Mary, the mother of the child. But, she could find no flowers blooming because of the cold of the winter.
As Madelyn stood weeping quietly, an angel passed by and saw her sorrow. The angel brushed aside the snow at her feet. And there sprang up a cluster of beautiful winter roses. The roses were white with pink tipped petals.
The angel said, "No gold, frankincense or myrrh is worth as much as the beauty of these pure Christmas Roses." Madelyn happily picked the flowers and gave them as a gift to the Christ Child.
Today, in places where the winter is not too cold, these beautiful winter flowers still bloom. We still call them Christmas Roses.
Dr. Mike Lockett is an educator, storyteller and children's author from Normal, IL. Dr. Lockett has given more than 4000 programs across the USA and as far away as eastern Asia.