Last year, at about this time, our then four year old granddaughter misplaced her favorite stuffed toy – Purple Bunny. The hunt for that bunny became the stuff of family legend. Everyone searched high and low for the old rabbit, and when it seemed Purple Bunny had successfully entered the wild, everyone started scouring stores for a replacement.
Alas, Purple Bunny clones had been delegated not merely out-of-stock, but out-of-production. There wasn’t a purple rabbit to be found anywhere. But then… a Christmas miracle occurred. (I wrote a little story for that little girl last year to document the miracle)
Purple Bunny’s Christmas Adventure
I believe in miracles – especially around Christmas time – there is magic in the air. Wishes come true, faith is restored and the season is alive with possibility. In the mist of a secret whispered on a frosty night, Santa breathes.
Purple Bunny made her way home on such a wish. Lost in the bustle of the season she beat the odds, traffic and frenzy of holiday shopping to reappear, out of the blue. She landed on a doorstep where a little girl, who’s heart still held a vacant spot in exactly that bunny’s size, would find her.
Nobody knows where Purple Bunny got lost, for if they did they certainly would have searched until they found her. So broken was the heart of the little girl who lost her, the remaining bunnies in her bedroom couldn’t fix it. She had loved Purple Bunny the best, although she never let her other bunnies feel left out or bad about that. She played with all of them equally – it was only when she was faced with the challenge of choosing just one to take on an adventure that Purple Bunny was singled out. It was on such an adventure that Purple Bunny got lost.
The little girl hoped that Purple Bunny had been found by someone who would love her as much as she did, hoped she was inside out of the rain. Days passed and then weeks began to roll by – Purple Bunny began to slip further back in her memory. Pretty soon the little girl only thought about Purple Bunny when she was falling asleep. Once in a while the little girl would see pictures of adventures she had taken with her family, in every picture of the little girl Purple Bunny was there, and she would miss her all over again.
Her Mommy told her she would buy her a new one if she could find one at the store, but the little girl didn’t want a new one and besides, her mommy couldn’t find a new purple bunny anywhere. So it was with much surprise that Purple Bunny was found on the front door steps. It is hard to fathom the obstacles that bunny faced to make her way home looking all sparkling clean and hardly worse for wear. For sure there must be a story, but Purple Bunny isn’t telling it – and neither is anyone else. It was a Christmas miracle in every sense of the word.
Somebody, somewhere is probably still smiling, I know we are. There is something special about a gift given that doesn’t require a thank you, a gift that inspires only gratitude. This is part of the magic of the season, gifting and gratitude. Santa Claus lives on that stuff – he inspires it, spreads it and stays quiet about it. Purple Bunny is just one of millions of gifts given in that spirit – the spirit of Christmas.

Comments (1)
Oh my! 🙂