"Hide, Christy!" David yelled in a hoa.r.s.e whisper as Marti parked the car and turned off the engine.

Mom opened her door and greeted Christy with, "Are you out enjoying the fresh air?"

"Yes," Christy answered, scooping up a handful of clean snow in her gloved hand and licking it like a snow cone.

Marti exited her door, pulled a bag of groceries from the backseat, and said, "Where's Bob?"

Christy hesitated and then decided honesty was always the best policy. "He's hiding in ambush behind that tree over there."

"Christina," Marti scolded, "where do you come up with these things? Do teenagers take smart-answer cla.s.ses in school these days?"

When Marti was a few feet from her, Christy held out her handful of snow, "There's something wrong with this snow. It doesn't smell right."

"What do you mean it doesn't smell right?" Marti asked.

Christy sniffed at the snow mound, "I don't know how to explain it, but it doesn't smell like Wisconsin snow."

Mom lugged two sacks of groceries from the backseat and said, "Then, for heaven's sake, don't eat ifr, Christy. Snow isn't supposed to have any kind of smell."

Christy looked at her aunt with questioning eyes. "What do you think? Does it smell funny to you?"

Marti leaned over, ready to delicately sniff the white stuff. Christy playfully pushed the handful of snow into her unsuspecting aunt's face.

Dad, David, and Bob took that as their signal and sprang from their hiding places, yelling so loudly that Marti dropped her bag of groceries and ran into the house, screaming.

Mom planted her grocery bags in the snow and began to fling a few feeble b.a.l.l.s at Dad. David snuck up behind her and shoveled a handful of snow down her jacket.

Letting out a yelp, Mom scooped up snow in both hands and showered the blessing back on David.

Mom, Dad, Bob, and David were all laughing and brushing the snow from their faces when Christy heard Marti calling to her from the window above her. "Oh Christy darling," Marti called. "Up here!"

Christy looked up just in time to see Marti tip a gla.s.s of water out the open window. Before Christy could move, the wet bullet found its mark and dripped down her face.

Christy shook off the startling wet surprise and called out, "Okay, okay! We're even, Aunt Marti." Christy waved her surrender at her aunt.

"That's the way I like it," Marti said with a satisfied expression.

Christy went inside to change and met Marti upstairs in the hallway.

"I couldn't resist the opportunity," Marti said with a giggle. "You're a good sport, Christy."

"So are you. You must have been pretty feisty when you were my age."

"Oh, I was!" Marti agreed. "Just ask your mother! Now, put on some dry clothes, and join us downstairs for cocoa."

Marti trotted down the stairs, and Christy thought, Your poor mother!

Once Christy was changed and seated at the kitchen counter, she asked, "Do you think we'll be able to do a little shopping somewhere up here today or tomorrow? I need to buy one more present."

She didn't want to mention that the only person she didn't have a gift for was her aunt, the person who had everything.

"The only shopping is at the Lake Arrowhead Village. I don't care to go there tomorrow," Marti said crisply. "It's Christmas Eve day, and the crowds will be unbearable."

"I could take you over," Bob said smoothly. "Or if you like small gift shops, I noticed one about a half mile down the road. I could take you down there, if you'd like."

"I could walk, if it's only a half mile." Christy accepted the mug of cocoa Bob held out to her.

"What's only a half mile?" Mom asked, joining them in the kitchen.

"A little gift shop. I still have one more present to get. Is it okay if I walk down there?"

"By yourself?" Mom asked.

"Mom, it's only down the road."

"I suppose it's okay. Thanks, Bob." Mom received her mug of cocoa. "You'll have to hurry, though. It's already after two. It gets dark faster up here in the mountains, so you would have to be back here before four, I'd say."

"That's fine. I'll leave right now."

"I imagine David will want to go with you," Mom said.

"Mother," Christy said with pleading eyes. "Please, may I just go by myself? He's not exactly a gift shop kind of kid."

"I suppose you're right. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will, Mom. I'll stay on the road, I'll be back by four, and I promise I won't talk to strangers."

Christy hurried to her room to grab her coat and some money.

Bob was waiting for her by the front door. "At the end of our driveway, turn left," he explained. "Then keep heading straight down the road for about a half mile, and you'll see the shop on the right. I think it's called the Alpine Gift Shop. Do you want me to pick you up in an hour?"

Christy was about to turn down his offer, but then she realized the walk there was downhill and would be quick and easy. But the walk back would be all uphill.

"Sure. My mom will probably feel better about that, won't she?"

Bob smiled. "I'll be there in an hour."

Christy trudged down the driveway before David noticed she was going somewhere. She turned left and kept heading down the cleared street. She was glad for the chance to think and pray, breathing out her prayers in misty puffs of cold air and listening for the answers in the crunch of gravel and ice beneath her feet.

The more she thought and prayed, the more she knew she wanted to be good friends with Rick and get all this tension between them resolved. And she didn't want to be jealous of Katie for having more freedom to do things and for being the center of attention all the time. She wanted Todd back in her life, or more accurately, she wanted to be back in Todd's life. She wanted his arm to be around her, not around his surfboard. And she wanted to feel close to G.o.d.

Is it possible to have all these at the same time? Maybe I need to set my priorities in order and reverse the list so G.o.d is at the top, with Rick, Katie, and Todd afier that Into the cold winter air, she prayed, "I surrender to You, Father. I do this a lot, don't I? I'm glad You don't ever get tired of forgiving me for not trusting You completely. I don't want to run ahead of You. I want to walk with You. I want to hear Your voice and feel Your hand of blessing on my head."

right where Bob said it would be and eagerly entered the warm, fragrant shop. Her nose and ears needed a little thawing out from the cold air.

The small store connected to some kind of big lodge. Christy noticed that soft, Christian praise music was playing in the background.

She began to browse the darling displays of gifts. From the pictures with Scriptures on them and the a.s.sortment of T-shirts with Christian messages, she realized the shop must be run by a believer. It made her feel warm inside and at home.

She loved all the frilly little gift items like the white lace doilies and the stationery trimmed with wildflowers. There was a whole section of books, and an antique trunk bubbled over with stuffed animals.

An elegant white teapot caught her eye. It had a matching creamer and sugar bowl, but she didn't have enough money for the whole set. She also knew it was probably something she would like more than her aunt would.

A collection of angels by the shops back door gave Christy an idea. She chose an angel Christmas tree ornament that looked like it had been made from an old-fashioned lace handkerchief. Maybe one year Marti would decorate her tree in angels, and this could be her first one. The price was right, and Christy felt good about finding something unique and special.

She took the ornament up to the register, and a sweet-smiling lady with short, curly blond hair rang up the purchase. Christy smiled back, certain that the lady must be a Christian, even though Christy didn't know what to say to identify herself as one too. She thought maybe her smile back could be a secret message of kinship in Christ.

"Would you like this gift wrapped?" the lady asked.

"Sure, that would be great. Is there an extra charge?"

"No, it's complimentary." the lady turned to a tall, pretty teenager sitting in a chair behind the counter. "Could you find a box upstairs for this, Amanda?"

The girl had long, blond hair pulled back in a braid and wore gla.s.ses with light blue frames that Christy thought were flattering on her. She rose from her cozy spot and walked up the narrow stairs at the back of the shop.

Christy waited patiently, smiling again at the lady and noticing how much she resembled the teenager. Maybe they were mother and daughter.

"These are cute angels, aren't they?" the lady com-mented. "My mom makes these. She'll be glad to know we sold another one."

Amanda returned with a box, and the lady carefully laid the angel inside on a bed of tissue paper.

"Do you want me to get a bow for it, Mom?" the girl asked.

Christy thought how nice it must be for a mother, daughter, and grandmother to all be involved in running this fun little gift shop. And if they were Christians, as she suspected, they could at least say Merry Christmas to their customers without being corrected.

Christy thanked the mother and daughter and was about to leave when something inside compelled her to call out, "I hope you have a wonderful celebration of the birth of our G.o.d."

Amanda looked at her surprised mother and then back at Christy and said, "Thanks. You too!"

Bob was waiting in the car for her when she stepped outside, leaving the warm, spicy fragrances locked in the charming little shop. She told Bob how cute the store was and that it was run by a mother and her daughter.

She wondered how Mom, Marti, and she would do if they tried to run a shop together. The more she thought about it, the less pretty the picture became. Mom and Marti were so differenta"her mom was simple but st.u.r.dy, while Marti was all flair and fashion.

Christy especially noticed the differences between Mom and Marti the next night. It was Christmas Eve, and as the whole family ate dinner by candlelight, Dad read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. Bob and Marti respected Christy's family's tradition, although the looks on their faces showed Christy that they didn't see the miracle in the story.

Christy smiled, thinking of how Bethlehem must have been filled with Bobs and Martis that night, who hurried about their business, unaware of G.o.d's sudden presence among them.

When Dad read about the angel appearing to the shepherds, bringing "good tidings of great joy," Christy thought, A whole city full of important, influential people, and G.o.d chose to wake up some lowly shepherds to announce His arrival.

She glanced at pet.i.te, stylish Marti, who seemed poised like a rocket, ready to blast off to the presents under the tree the minute Dad finished reading.

I'd rather be a shepherd, Christy thought, feeling as if she and G.o.d had a little secret.

"This one's for Christy," David announced a few minutes later as he scurried around the tree, pa.s.sing out gifts to the family.

Christy eagerly unwrapped the medium-sized box from her aunt and uncle and discovered a complicated, expensive-looking camera.

"Thanks," she said, not quite sure how to respond to such an unexpected gift.

"Your mom said you signed up for a photography cla.s.s next semester, and I wanted to make sure you were prepared with the best equipment possible," her uncle explained. "I'll show you how to work it later. It's as easy as can be."

"Thanks."

She didn't know what else to say. The photography cla.s.s had been almost an afterthought. It had sounded more interesting than some of the other electives offered, and she had been at a loss as to what else to fill her schedule with. Now she had an expensive camera to cement her elective-cla.s.s decision. Maybe it would help her get a good grade.

"Another one for Aunt Marti." David handed Marti a small, long, narrow box tied with a gold ribbon.

"Bob, you shouldn't have," Marti protested. "I told you all I wanted this year was a white Christmas. You already gave me that."

Bob grinned and said in his good-natured way, "I thought you needed a few snowflakes to keep with you all year long."

"Oh, Robert, you are the most wonderful husband in the world." Marti's long manicured nails slit the gold ribbon on the box and snapped it open.

With a gasp she exclaimed, "Oh, Robert, it's absolutely beautiful!"

Christy felt as though she were watching a commercial as Marti removed the sparkling diamond bracelet from the box and held it in the light of the red Christmas tree bulbs so everyone could see the glistening bracelet.

Bob looked at Marti proudly, pleased with his wife's reaction. "Am I forgiven for the s...o...b..ll ambush?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Christy caught the expression on her dad's face. Dad was a dairyman, not a self-made real estate millionaire like Uncle Bob. When her parents married, they were so poor that Dad had given her mom a simple gold wedding band. Mom never even had an engagement ringf.

How could her mom handle this so graciously? Mom had never received a diamond in her life. Yet here she sat, watching her sister ooh and aah over a bracelet filled with diamonds.

Christy's mother leaned over to Dad, placed her hand, the one with the simple gold band on her finger, on his leg and whispered something in his ear. Dad turned and looked at Mom. It was as if they each sent a love letter to the other with their eyes. It was beautiful.

No one else had noticed what had pa.s.sed between Christy's parents because Bob, Marti, and David were busy trying to close the bracelet's clasp around Marti's slim wrist. Christy felt a little embarra.s.sed, as if she shouldn't have been watching the intimate moment between her parents. At the same time, it made her feel warm and secure.

"Go ahead!" Marti said eagerly. "Someone else open a gift now."

"I will!" David dove for the largest box, which did indeed hold the video game set he had been hinting to Uncle Bob for. Another round of squeals and more hugs were lavished on Uncle Bob.

After all the gifts were opened, the wrapping paper crammed into garbage bags, and one last round of cocoa had been poured, everyone headed off to bed.

Christy carried upstairs her new ballet-style slippers and thick peach-colored robe from Mom and Dad. Bob had already been in her room, and a crackling fire filled the room with its amber glow.

After putting on her pajamas, Christy slipped into the new robe. She felt cozy and surrounded with warmth, ready to stretch out on her window seat.

Tonight no snow fell outside her treetop window. The sky had cleared, and she could see the stars. Tucking her legs under her and pulling the new robe tight around her middle, Christy undid the lock on the double windows and pushed them open.

The brisk night air ran in to greet her. She stuck her head out the open window, gazing up at the stars.

Those stars are Your diamonds, aren't they, G.o.d? They're beautifula" like diamonds scattered on black velvet Why are they scattered? They should be gathered together to fill Your crown, not spilled out on heaven's floor.

For a long time she sat before the open window, watching the stars, breathing in the cold night air, and burrowing her hands in the large pockets of her plush robe. She felt small compared with the vastness before her. All her feelings from the past few days seemed to level out and, in a way, became insignificant when held up against thoughts of eternity.

When You were a baby, did You see that bright star over Bethlehem? Could You see it from Your manger bed? Did you know that star was shining for You?