Christmas Message

Visit Eighty-five

Hampton is looking forward to Christmas. He and his wife, Diane, are expecting their son, Erick, to get home from serving overseas in Germany with the Army. Erick will be arriving tomorrow which will be Christmas Eve, with his wife, Shirley and daughter, Marie. They are anxious to see their six-year-old granddaughter. It will be a happy Christmas this year. It has been two years since they have been together.

Hampton calls from the attic, “Diane , do you want the box with the snowmen?”

“Yes… I’ll put them in the guest bathroom… Honey, grab the green box that has the stuffed cloth nativity. I’ll put those in Marie’s room. She always likes to play with them…especially Mary riding on the donkey.”

“I thought we had all the Christmas decorations down from up here already.”

Diane replies, “I didn’t get them all down until I heard that Erick was coming home for Christmas. We have them all now.”

Hampton finishes retrieving the decorations and Diane completes the placement of the treasures in their respective places. She prepares a pot of coffee and the couple relax in the den to watch the late news.

He remarks, “It gets no better than this, Babe. I can’t wait for the kids to get here.”

Diane says, “It is going to be a happy time.”

Before the news is over, Hampton falls asleep on the couch. Diane is sitting in her chair reading a book.

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Hampton is walking down the road that has a white rail fence running beside it. He looks over the fence and sees a boy holding a rabbit. The boy is brushing the rabbit’s teeth with a toothbrush.

Then Hampton sees a young girl painting a donkey’s hooves with red nail polish. The girl looks familiar to Hampton.

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“Wake up, Honey! You’re going to get a crick in your neck sleeping upright like that. Let’s go to bed.”

Hampton rubs his eyes and stretches. He replies, “You know, Babe… I had a dream just now. It was weird.”

“Most dreams are weird… I’ve had some doozies.”

“Yes, I know… me too. This one is weird because I remember it so vividly. There was a boy with a rabbit and a girl and a donkey… and the girl was painting the donkey’s hooves. The boy was brushing the rabbit’s teeth. That girl looked so much like my sister… when we were little and lived at the children’s home in Waco.”

“You had a dream about Dawn? It’s been a long time since you mentioned her. What’s it been? Has it been thirty, thirty-five years since you saw her?”

“I guess it’s been thirty-six… she was younger and was adopted by a family from somewhere up north. I never was adopted.”

“And when you left the Home, Dad gave you a job and taught you the business.”

“Yes… and later he made me a partner and he introduced me to Jesus. Of course, he also gave you away… to me. I owe your father a lot.”

Hampton continues, “I went back to the Home and got Dawn’s adopted family’s address. I contacted them and found out that she had run away and they didn’t know where she was.”

“Well, I pray that you’ll find her eventually.”

“I hope she’s still alive. That girl in my dream sure looked like Dawn… you don’t think God is giving me a message that Dawn’s with Him in heaven.”

“No, I don’t… You have to have faith, Hamp’. I really believe you’ll find Dawn someday.”

“You always boost my spirits, Honey. Let’s go to bed. The kids will be here tomorrow morning. It’ll be a great Christmas.”

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Hampton is floating down a creek on the back of a turtle. He looks toward the bank and sees the same boy with the rabbit. The boy is holding a pair of clippers and looks like he will cut the rabbits hair. The girl is using large rollers to curl the donkey’s hair.

Hampton hears Diane yelling, “Hampton! Hampton! Wake Up! You’re shouting Dawn’s name over and over.”

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Hampton awakens and says, “Sorry, Babe… Another one of those crazy dreams. Maybe Dawn has a beauty shop or something. Those weird dreams have a lot of beauty shop stuff in them.”

“Could be, but how are you going to find her shop? You don’t know her name or anything.”

“I don’t know. I think the dreams are full of clues, but I don’t get it.”

“Well, it’s late… Go back to sleep and we’ll see in the morning. Remember the kids are coming tomorrow. Goodnight, Hamp’.”

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The next morning Erick and his family arrive to a joyous greeting. After they get caught up on everything that has transpired in the lives of both families, Erick asks his father, “Dad, do you know of a good vet?”

Hampton replies, “Yes… When we had pets, we took them to Doctor Johnson… You remember him, don’t you?”

“Yes… good doctor. Well, we need to take Marie’s rabbit, Fluffy, to get her teeth trimmed.”

“What are you talking about? A rabbit needs his teeth trimmed?”

“This breed does… their teeth don’t meet and if you don’t trim them, the teeth will grow into their head and kill them. I forgot about Fluffy and his teeth look terrible. I hoped we could get it done today… Do you think anyone will be open today?”

“I’ll check with Doc Johnson’s office and see.”

Hampton puts down the phone and says, “Doc Johnson is closed, but I have a list of ‘backup’ vets he left on his phone. We need to look up the addresses and pick one.”

Diane gets the phone directory and looks up the names of the veterinarians. She calls out the addresses, Main Street, Young Drive, Preston Street, Turtle Creek Circle…

Hampton calls out, “Wait! Did you say ‘Turtle Creek’?”

“Yes, Hamp’, Is there something about that address?”

“It was in my dream about Dawn.”

Erick asks, “Dream? What dream? Did you say something about Aunt Dawn? Have you heard from her?”

Hampton replies, “In a way… I had a couple of dreams recently and I believe there’s a message about her.”

“A message? Dad, you don’t believe God is trying to give you a message about your missing sister do you?”

“I do… I believe I do.” He asks Diane , “What is the name of the vet?”

Diane replies, “All it says is ‘Key Animal Clinic and Salon’.”

“Okay everyone, let’s take Fluffy to the ‘Key Animal Clinic and Salon’.”

They pile into Hampton’s SUV and drive to the clinic. When they arrive, Hampton notices the sign advertising the business has pictures of a donkey and a rabbit included with the usual dog and cat pictures. The donkey has rollers in its hair.

After they go inside, Hampton asks the receptionist the name of the owner. The young lady replies, “Doctor Key, but he’s not available. Can I help you?”

“My son’s rabbit, Fluffy, needs his teeth trimmed. Can you take care of him?”

“Yes… Just a minute. I’ll get someone to help you. Please take a seat.”

They don’t have to wait long. A lady with a white jacket comes from the back room and approaches them. When she gets closer, Hampton notices her name tag as ‘D. Key’. She says, “I understand you have a rabbit that needs a little trim.”

Hampton asks, “Dawn? Are you Dawn?”

“Now, no jokes… Yes, it’s Dawn Key and I’ve heard all the remarks about donkeys and all that. That’s the purpose of the donkey on our sign outside. It’s a little joke of my husband. His name is Don… Don Key and Dawn Key. Pretty funny, right?”

“Dawn! It’s Hampton… Don’t you recognize me?”

Dawn is taken back. She stammers, “Hampton? It is you! Oh my, I didn’t know where you were. I ran away from my adoptive parents and when I finally got my act together and tried to contact the Home, no one knew your whereabouts. They thought you joined the service and was overseas somewhere. I can’t believe it’s you! I’m so glad to find you…” The two siblings embrace for a long time. Dawn asks, “How did you find me? Just an accident or what?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I got a message in two dreams about you.” Hampton sees Dawn smile and he continues, “I told you it was crazy, but that’s how I found you. There was a young boy with a rabbit and a girl with a donkey. All the clues about you were there… she even looked like you when we were kids at the Home.”

Dawn says, “I don’t think that sounds crazy.” She asks, “Do you remember Momma Mary?

“Sure… She was our Group Mother at the home. What about her? ”

“Don’t you remember? Everyone said I looked like her childhood pictures that were in her room. I had a dream about her last night. That’s why I smiled when you told about your dreams.”

“Oh yes… I remember. You did look a lot like her. Wait a minute! Wasn’t there a man by the name of Mister Joseph that had a farm next to the Home?”

“Yes! And he had rabbits… Remember? He let us play with them and he was so nice.”

“I remember. Also I remember Mister Joseph and Momma Mary were always telling me that I needed Jesus in my heart.

“Me too! Those two helped me make it through some tough times.”

Hampton says, “Well, I think they helped this year to bring us together again. This is a very, very special Christmas.”

Dawn says, “Yes, it is special. God gave us a special gift. He gave us… us.”

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