On Christmas Eve Lucinda hid so that she would not have to walk in the procession or go to church. Standing alone in the darkness, she watched from afar as everyone hurried into the church, bearing the gifts they had brought for the Christ Child. Lucinda felt ashamed. While Lucinda lingered in the shadows, a mysterious old woman approached her. When the old woman asked Lucinda why she was not walking in the procession, the little girl explained that she could not, for she had no gift to give to the Baby Jesus.
Any gift is beautiful because it is given.
Whatever you bring to the Baby, He will love, because it came from you. Yet, Lucinda still wondered what she had to offer. Looking around, she spotted a patch of tall, spindly weeds. Lucinda ran over and picked a big armful. She had disappeared.