This story was originally written for another Sandra,
now with her Lord,
whose short life remains an encouragement and inspiration
to all of us who knew her.

There was once a young girl whose name was Sandra.  She lived not too far away and at a time a bit like our time.  She lived with her family – she was the youngest – and there were some things that she really loved doing.

One of those things was listening to grown-ups talk.  Some of her friends thought that was way too boring. “No, its not!” Sandra would tell them, “You don’t know because you don’t listen.  I do.  I hear some strange things and some scary things and some wonderful things.”  Sandra would always admit that she didn’t understand everything, but still she liked to listen.

One day Sandra was snuggled up in her favourite big soft green lounge near the open fire that warmed her bare feet, cuddling her pink unicorn and listening to her father and his friends talking.  On this night they were talking about Israel and the promise they had treasured for centuries about the One who would come. Sandra knew something of this story because of Christmas and she tried to understand what they were saying, but as they talked on, their voices became softer and soon began to fade quite far away…… 

“It has to be kept!” said her father, “It is a promise that God made, and He cannot tell a lie!”

“Yes, but maybe we just don’t understand,” said his friend, “It has been hundreds and hundreds of years since that was written.” 

“I know, I know.” replied her father, “But still, a promise is a promise.”

“What promise, Daddy?” interrupted Sandra.  Normally she would just listen, but now she just couldn’t help speaking up.

Everyone turned and looked at her.  They were not angry or anything, just a bit surprised.  Didn’t they know that she was listening?

“Well Sweetie,” (her father always called her funny names) “Many, many years ago God promised that He would send someone who would save us from all our enemies and also wash away all our sins.  When I was your age I remember my father telling me about it and he was hoping that he would live to see him.  But he didn’t come and for all these many years our people have been waiting for him, hoping that maybe soon he will come.”

“Oh,” said Sandra, and then, after thinking for a long while, she interrupted the men again.  “What will he be like?”

Everyone turned and looked at her again.  Sandra didn’t mind because she really wanted to find out.

“Well Blossom,” (another funny name) said her father, “We don’t really know.  Sometimes he seems to be someone very gentle, like a shepherd, and other times he seems to be someone very strong, like a great soldier.”

“Oh,” said Sandra, and snuggling up into her soft chair again with the blanket her mother had put over her, she settled down to think again.

Suddenly, there was the sound of voices at the door outside and “Knock, knock, knock”.

The men stopped talking and looked at each other.  Her father went to the door.  “Who could that be at this time of the night?” he said as he passed by Sandra, touching her softly on the head.

When he had opened the door, the voices were louder and everyone seemed to be taking at once. 

“One at a time, please!” said her father. “Start again from the beginning.”

There was more talking at the door, and then Sandra heard her father say, “No, no, I have no idea, I have not heard or seen anything.”  Then the visitors, whoever they were, all left, it seemed in a hurry, and soon her father returned to the fire.

“Very strange, very strange!” he was saying as he passed by Sandra, putting his hand again gently on her head.

“Who were those strange men?” asked Sandra’s mother who had come into the room from the kitchen.  “What did they want?”

“Oh, I know them”, said her father, “They are the shepherds from the eastern fields.  I’ve seen them many times in the market.  Young David, Joshua’s son is one of them.”

“But why did they come to see you, and so late in the night?”

“Well, that is what is strange.  They were looking for a baby!  Can you believe it?  Those men came here looking for a new born baby! ”

“There is no baby here,” said Sandra’s mother and she gently rubbed Sandra’s warm cheeks.  Sandra was glad she said that!

“I know,” replied her father, “and they did not expect to find the baby here either.  They wanted to know if I knew about a baby that had been born tonight in a stable somewhere.  Imagine!  They asked me if I knew about a baby, born in a stable of all places!  Babies are not born in stables!  At first I thought they must have been joking, but they were all very serious.”

“But where did they get such a funny idea?” asked Sandra, sitting up with eyes wide open.

Her father looked at her for a long time.  He looked like he was trying to say something but it just wouldn’t come out.  After a long wait he spoke. “Angels!” he said, very softly, and as if he was thinking very hard.

“What? Angels?” asked Sandra’s mother, a little annoyed.  “This is all very strange.”

He answered slowly and thoughtfully. “They said that they had seen an angel.  They were very scared at first.  The angel told them not to be scared.  He told them to come into town and look for the baby who had just been born, in a stable.  They said that this baby is the Coming One, the one that God promised would come.  Then the shepherds said that the whole sky seemed to be filled with angels, all singing for joy and praising God!”

“Nonsense!” said one of the men. “No-one ever heard of such a thing.  Angels filling the sky!  Really!  Who can believe something like that? Never!”

“But if it is the Coming One…” began her father.

“In a stable?  The Coming One?  Born in a stable?  How dare you even suggest such a thing!” said another man angrily.

“But, perhaps…”  he began, and stopped.  Sandra had never seen her father unable to answer his friends before.  He seemed confused, but also a bit excited.  “Perhaps, perhaps we should go and ask someone…” he said.

“Let’s go!” said Sandra excitedly, jumping up and looking around for her socks and shoes.

“You are not going anywhere little miss, except to bed!” said her mother sternly.  “It’s far too late…”

Her father was already putting on his big warm coat.

“No,” he said after a pause, looking very seriously at Sandra, “She can come with me this once.  I think this might be a special night!”

It was cold outside, but Sandra’s mother had made sure she was warm enough.  In fact, she was so wrapped up she felt she was almost buried in all her clothes.  She held her father’s hand and they walked towards the market square.  Someone there would surely know if anything unusual had happened that night.

Sandra hardly ever went out at night, so it was quite exiting, but she wasn’t scared at all.  There were a lot of people about – something to do with new government rules made a lot of people come to stay in their town.

“Shepherds?  Yes, we saw the shepherds!” said one man.  “We heard them as well, singing and shouting praises to God!  I’ve never seen anything like it!  They came into town some time ago and went straight into that stable over there.  They’ve gone now, back to look after the flocks.”

“Can we go in as well, Daddy?” asked Sandra, trying to pull her father towards the stable.

“No,” said the man sternly.  “You can’t!”  Then he went on, more thoughtfully and kindly, like a grandfather.  “Very strange, very unfortunate really.  A young couple came into town late this afternoon.  The woman was going to have a baby any time.  No room anywhere for them to stay.  So they put them into the stable!  She had the baby without a problem it seems.  It’s a boy I was told.  But they are sleeping now, or so the women said, and you are not to disturb them.”

Sandra looked at her father with eyes as big as saucers.  Could it be?  Her father looked very, very serious, and yet to Sandra it seemed like he was about to laugh, or cry, or maybe both.  Big tears rolled down his cheeks.  He bent down and picked her up, hugging her tightly, and they walked slowly away……

“Time for bed, Princess,” he said as he put her gently onto her own soft bed, pulled the blankets over her and tucked her in. 

“He has come, Daddy!  He has come.  I was there. You too.”  Sandra said excitedly, but a bit sleepily.

“Were you, dear?  That’s nice, I’m glad.  Now close your eyes and sleep.  Sweet dreams, Possum,” he said as he turned out the light.

Sandra snuggled up in bed.  “Yes, he has come!” she thought happily, and fell sound asleep.