Synopsis:
Jared Roberts has plenty of reasons to be angry. It has been nearly a year since his father, Joe, simply vanished after being fired from him job at Stone Industries because management believed he was stealing from the factory. Now, at thirteen years of age, Jared works part-time for the same company, while his mother, Mary, toils there full-time in addition to having taken a part-time job at a store in order to provide for Jared and his three siblings. The family was never wealthy to begin with, residing in the poorest area of town known as “The Sink.” Ironically, Stone Industries later caught the real thief and apologized to the Roberts family, but the damage was done — Joe has not been seen or heard from and Mary is struggling to accept that he is probably dead and will never return home. Jared and his thug-like friends are planning to do something terrible to the Stone family.
Meanwhile, Sarah Stone, the only daughter of widower Jonas, owner of Stone Industries, is a privileged and haughty thirteen-year-old living in a mansion and surrounded by servants. The only thing she isn’t surrounded by is love. Sarah’s mother was killed by a drunk driver a few years ago, robbing Jonas of the love of his life, and his focus has been on keeping busy running his business in order to manage his heartbreak. But in the process, his daughter has become a casualty, as well. Demanding, selfish, and cripplingly lonely, Sarah attends a private school but has no true friends and she secretly longs for her father’s attention.
Because of a nasty prank Sarah played on her chauffeur/chaperone, he quit. As the story opens, Sarah’s frustration over not being able to go to the mall to shop — one of her few pleasure — amuses her personal maid, who is barely able to tolerate her. But a strange little man named Nicholas is about to enter Sarah’s life, as well as Jared’s, and change everything.
Review:
When Sarah looks out her bedroom window, she sees a strange little man being admitted onto the property and is instantly mesmerized by him. He insists that his name is simply “Nicholas” because he hasn’t used his last name in so many years that he can no longer remember what it is. He claims to be applying for the just-vacated chauffeur/chaperone position even though it hasn’t yet been advertised and is capable of some Mary Poppins-esque magic that confounds but beguiles Sarah, as well as the suspicious household staff and her father, Jonas. Thus, the adventure begins.
Whether Mary’s Son ~ A Tale of Christmas is a true story is not the real issue; for it is not the facts that matter but rather the message of love that comes from the truth of the birth of Jesus Christ.~ Author Darryl Nyznyk
In Nyznyk’s short, entertaining story, Nicholas enchants everyone who meets him as he sets about accomplishing his goal: to teach Sarah and Jared what Christmas is really all about. But in Nyznyk’s hands, Nicholas is much more than just a jolly elf with mysterious powers who believes in the magic of the Christmas season. Rather, he believes that God became flesh in that manger all those years ago. He talks to God, prays for assistance, and reminds folks of why Christmas exists. When his initial efforts to touch Sarah and Jared’s hardened hearts fail, he resorts to drastic measures, teleporting them back in time to that most magical and mysterious night the world has ever known so that they can experience first-hand how Christmas came to be and return home to spread good cheer.
Sarah learns that Christmas is about giving rather than receiving gifts, Jared releases his anger, and by the time Christmas arrives, the lives and hearts of all concerned have been transformed by Nicholas. Because Mary’s Son ~ A Tale of Christmas is a holiday story, it will come as no surprise that it has a happy ending and a concise message about what really matters — family. It is a delightful, quick read that is appropriate for children and families. In fact, the book is the embodiment of a story that Nyznyk had heard years earlier and told in 1994 to a group of seven-and-eight-year-olds attending his daughter’s slumber party, so its re-telling could easily become a tradition for your family.
Click here to read author Darryl Nyznyk’s guest post, Remembering Jesus at Christmas!
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18 Comments
Just my hubby and the kids. dinner and a Xmas movie. Hope you had a good one too!
Spent it with family and relatives, ate a dinner with salmon and salad..a lot of salad. Exchanged gifts and caught up with my cousins who were out of state.
Well, we didn’t get to celebrate this year. We went instead to take care of my daughter in law who has bacterial meningitis. We had the spirit of christmas and remembered the true meaning but no decorations were up since she had been in the hospital for so long. I know it’s not what you wanted to hear!
We always spend all day with extended family at my grandparents’ house.
We spent Christmas Eve at my son’s house and Christmas Day at my daughter’s. There were lots of relatives and we all enjoyed spending time together!
Since it was just Mom and me for Christmas day, we decided to join my cousin and her family. What an enjoyable time. After a message at church about “We would see Jesus” we went to my cousin. They had all her children and grandchildren there and they had made turkey the conventional way as well as a deep fried turkey, and all the trimmings! No gifts, just good fellowship
My son was married this past summer, so this was our first Christmas with our daughter-in-law. It was fabulous.
GFC Follower: Leah
I celebrated Christmas with my brother, sister-in-law, niece, sister, mom, and dad on Christmas Eve. We had turkey for dinner, then opened gifts, and then went to church.
We had our daughter and son-in-law with our two gandkids. Had a great meal, opened presents, and had a lot of fun.
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Twitter Name: Anita Yancey
Had a great year….found out on Friday that I am now cancer free after a long four year fight. so had a wonderful year with the kids and their spouses home.
Lots of family and friends, good food, old memories and pictures.
Our Christmas celebration was wonderful–with my best friend, my mom, and my daughter. We have great fun!
GFC – Jeanne.
Christmas was celebrated at my 82 year old Mother’s home. My 2 daughters were able to come home plus all my siblings and their families were there. Wonderful time together. I love family time.
My adult children and their dates were all home for Christmas. Everything went well.
I spent Christmas day at my brother’s house. It was fabulous!
Lots of family, food, and presents!