18 Years ago.

The Christmas parade had ended more than two hours ago, but downtown was still crowded with people shopping for presents. One lady who had her two year old daughter in tow, was one of them. As two year olds are want to do, she struggled in her mother's arms, until her mother set her down. Holding her hand the mother went from store to store, finding quite a lot of good things for very good prices. As she came out of one store, the two year old daughter strayed in to the street. Horrified, the mother called for her to come back, but the child thought it was a game, so she kept going and giggling. A car was coming fast and the woman screamed for someone to help her baby.

A young man about twleve or thirteen years of age, ran in to the street and scooped up the little girl. Just as he was about to run to the mother with the child, the car struck him, sending the little girl flying. Before he was knocked over, however, he said, "catch her". Then he slumped on to the pavement, dead from the impact of the car. A man who was there, did catch the little girl and handed her to her mother. The mother thanked the man her tears of fear turning to tears of joy.

The Present.

At the cemetery, a woman in her fifties, with greying hair, sky blue, sparkling eyes and a flawless complexion, knelt at the grave of her son. She was lost in prayer and thought, when a young woman who had just turned twenty years old two days before, knelt down beside her. She was also lost in thought and prayer, but for a different reason than the older woman.

When the two were finished with their prayers, the older woman said aloud.

"You never had the chance to grow up, but what you did was more grown up than most adults pretend to be. I am very proud of you my son."

The younger woman couldn't help but cry at hearing these endearing words. The younger woman got up, and helped the older woman to her feet.

"Did you know my son?"

"Yes. I was there when he scraped his knee on the little stones along the old dirt road when he fell."

"Oh! My child! You can't be more than nineteen or twenty years old. My son scraped his knee whe he was seven."

"Yes, ma'am, I know."

"But, how could you possibly ..."

Then the older woman looked in to the young woman's eyes.

"Oh my gosh! You're, you're...but how?"

"The Lord rewards those who give their life to save another."

"My Lord, child, you are beautiful not only in body, but in spirit too."

"Come ma'am, there is someone I want you to meet." The young woman took the mother over to a waiting car, and introduced her to the young woman's parents. "These are my parents, and I am the little girl your son saved many years ago. I just wanted you to know that they know the same thing that you now know too. There is room in my heart for all of you. Let's go and get something to eat."

As they drove out of the cemetery, the young woman looked at the grave and mouthed the words, "thank you".