The Candy Cane Miracle by Terrie Lynn Bittner

One Christmas our finances were very tight, and I was struggling. I love Christmas, and having so little money to spend on the holiday was putting me into a bad mood. I gave myself the usual lectures about how Christmas isn’t about money or shopping, but it didn’t help. I enjoyed shopping for gifts, decorating the house and making special treats. It’s my one domestic time of the year. One Sunday morning when I was supposed to be praying, I found myself complaining instead. “The budget is so tight I can’t even buy candy canes for the tree,” I whined. Now certainly, candy canes were the least of my problems that year, but they were inexpensive and to me, they just seemed to represent how bad things were. I felt guilty about using my prayer as a gripe-session, but I didn’t seem capable of more reverent prayer at the moment.

That afternoon, we went to church. As I walked down the hallway toward my class, a man I barely knew smiled and handed me several candy canes. At the end of church, someone else did the same thing. My children came home with candy canes. A few days later, a visitor to our home left behind a batch of candy canes. For the next week, it seemed I couldn’t go anywhere or see anyone without being presented with candy canes, and my family was having the same experience.

As I looked around my living room one day, and saw the tree overflowing with the candy cane gifts, and even vases filled with the extras, I started to laugh. I remembered my frustrated prayer of the previous Sunday and knew why everyone, even complete strangers, seemed determined to give us candy canes. I  felt the message of the candy canes enter my heart. It was His way of showing me that He was paying attention to my needs, and loved me. If He would take care of so small a longing as the desire for candy canes on a Christmas tree, how could I believe He would neglect the more important needs I had at the time? Candy canes remind most people of the shepherd’s crook, but to this day, they always remind me of sparrows:

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear not therefore: yea are of more value than many sparrows -Luke 12:6-7

By Terri Lynn Bittner

What tender mercies, candy canes, sparrows or spitual gifts have you seen this month? For me, It is that my husband has been home all month so far. He has always been in retail and the Christmas season has been a lonely time or our family, in the past. But this year we have been blessed, no travel, no huge calling assignments, no distractions, just him being home for Christmas. Another tender mercy is I’ve been looking for blue ornaments for years now and I found the very color I was looking for on sale and perfect this year to go with my crochet snowflakes…now if I can finish the snowflakes that would be another wonderful miracle.