Lisa and Frieda saw Grandpa at church that Sunday. They asked Grandpa if he was available later that afternoon for them to stop by for a short time. They told Grandpa that they had a surprise for him. Grandpa was very excited and said that he would love to have them stop by. Lisa said she would call just before they came over.

Lisa‘s mom went into the store with Lisa and Frieda to buy the things they needed to make the wreath for Grandpa.

After lunch at Lisa’s house, the girls used Lisa’s sketch to make the wreath for Grandpa.

Frieda said, “Lisa, this is going to be a real beautiful wreath. I like your sketch a lot.”

Lisa responded, “Thanks, Frieda. I think Grandpa is really gonna like it. I don’t ever remember seeing a wreath on Grandpa’s door. I wonder why he doesn’t buy any. He has a very beautiful house, but the door looks like it needs something.”

Lisa‘s mom said, “I was thinking the same thing. Grandpa seems to have a very good eye for decorating his home. It always looks very inviting. I wonder why he never puts a wreath on his front door. Maybe he will talk about that when you bring the wreath over to him.”

Because Lisa and Frieda had been making wreaths all the previous day, making one more was very easy for them.

When they were done making the new wreath, Lisa‘s mom said, “Girls, this is a really beautiful one. If I might say so myself, I think it might be the most beautiful one so far.”

Lisa called Grandpa on the phone and told him that they would be over soon. Grandpa said he would be waiting for them.

——

As well as being very artistic and creative, Lisa was starting to become very dramatic as well. When the girls arrived at Grandpa’s front door, Lisa said that she wanted to do something exciting.

Lisa said, “Frieda, what do you think of this? You hold the wreath and turn around so that Grandpa will not be able to see the wreath when he first opens the door. I will talk to Grandpa and tell him that he needs to close his eyes. Then you can turn around and we will surprise Grandpa.”

Frieda said, “I like that! Grandpa is going to be so surprised! “

Frieda was holding the wreath and turned around. Lisa rang the doorbell.

When Grandpa opened the door, Lisa said, “You have to close your eyes, Grandpa. We will let you know when you can open your eyes and look at the surprise.”

Grandpa said, “Yes, indeed, you are becoming very dramatic, Lisa. I will close my eyes.”

When Grandpa closed his eyes, Lisa said, “OK, Frieda. You can turn around now.”

After Frieda turned around, Lisa said, “OK, Grandpa, You can open your eyes.”

Then, Lisa and Frieda said together, “Surprise!”

When Grandpa saw the wreath, it was like somebody froze him. He was about ready to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth.

Lisa said, “Grandpa, we know you usually don’t have a wreath on your front door, but we just felt that we should bring one to you.”

Finally, Grandpa was able to speak. He said, “I really do love this wreath. I … I just don’t know what to say. Would you girls please come in?”

Lisa and Frieda realized that the wreath was bringing back a very difficult memory for Grandpa.

Lisa and Frieda came into Grandpa’s house with the wreath, and Grandpa invited them to sit down in the living room.

Grandpa was still very quiet. The girls were starting to get a little bit concerned. They really didn’t know what else to say.

After what seemed to be a very uncomfortable amount of time, a strange kind of peace came over Lisa. Lisa later said that what she was feeling was like the feeling that she had when Larry grabbed a hold of her arm so that she wouldn’t fall down the hill.

Lisa said, “Grandpa, we know that seeing this wreath brought back a memory that is very difficult for you. If you can, would you share that with us?”

Grandpa said, “The emotion is not primarily about the wreath. It’s about being able to talk to somebody that is special to me. Lisa and Frieda, I feel like I can share this story with you.

Frieda said, “Well, Grandpa, I do believe that God is starting to work in all of our hearts. We need to be able to help each other. We all have had things in our lives that was difficult for us to deal with. We brought the wreath over to you, Grandpa, because you have been such a loving grandpa to so many children, including us.”

Grandpa said, “Thank you for sharing that, Frieda.”

Grandpa paused.

Then, Grandpa continued, “I need to tell the story to you girls. I’ve never been able to share this with anyone before. Just before my wife died, she was in a rehab center similar to the one that’s close to our church. I think some of the wreaths that are being made will be carried over there for them. My wife couldn’t walk very well, so I pushed her in a wheelchair down to the gift shop. When we went into the gift shop, the lady said that all of the crafts were made by a local church and the proceeds go to the rehab center. My wife picked out a wreath for us to buy. She asked me to take the wreath home and put it on the front door. That’s what I did that night.”

Grandpa was speaking very slowly, and the girls could tell it was very difficult for him to tell the story. There were tears coming down his eyes, and they could hardly even hear him talk.

Grandpa continued, “The next day, my wife was going to talk to the people at the rehab center to determine when she could go home. She was very excited about going home.”

Grandpa stopped again.

Lisa said, “It’s OK, Grandpa. You don’t have to finish if you don’t want to.”

Grandpa said, “I …. need to finish the story. Something unexpected happened. I can’t share the details, but my wife had to go back into the hospital. She stayed in the hospital.”

The girls were really quiet and waited to see if Grandpa wanted to finish.

Grandpa continued “My wife never made it home to see the wreath on the front door. She died within a few days in the hospital.”

Both of the girls were crying now along with Grandpa.

Grandpa said, “After my wife died, I kept the wreath on the front door for a long time. I just couldn’t make myself take the wreath off the door. When I was going to the grocery store one day close to Christmas, I saw some Christmas wreaths for sale. I felt like God told me, not in an audible voice, but He did tell me this. He said, ’It’s OK. You can buy a Christmas wreath and put it on your front door.’ That’s what I did for Christmas. When everybody was taking all of their Christmas decorations down, I took the wreath off the door. For some reason I have not been able to put another wreath up on my front door. I don’t know what happened to the wreath that my wife and I bought.”

Grandpa paused again.

Then Grandpa said, “When you brought the wreath to me today, I felt like the Lord said to me, ‘I have not forgotten you. I know you miss your wife dearly, but I have some precious children that can show you love.’ “

Frieda said, “Thank you, Grandpa. We are very happy to give you our love.”

Grandpa and the girls hung the wreath on the front door.

When Grandpa walked out into the front yard and looked at his front door with the wreath on it, he realized something that was amazing.

Grandpa said, “You may not believe this. But to the best of my memory, this wreath looks exactly like the wreath that my wife and I bought just before she died.”

Frieda said, “Grandpa, we designed this wreath from a drawing that Lisa did last night.”

Grandpa said, “I guess I have to believe it. What do I believe? That God truly loves his children. And He knows what they need, and he meets their needs, even if in unexpected ways. Thank you, girls, for this wonderful gift.”

The girls said goodbye to Grandpa and went back to Lisa’s house. The girls told Lisa’s family the story about the wreath. And then Frieda told her family when she got home. They were all excited to see what God was going to do next.