Grandma Angel in heaven was walking away from the Throne Room down Gold Street. She was looking for her friend Gabriel, who plays the trumpet, especially when asked by God to blow his horn to make an announcement.
She looked this way and that, up Glory Road and down Joy Lane, but could not find Gabriel. She wanted to tell him something she remembered. It was Christmas, and she liked remembering things about life on Earth.
Like the time when she and her grandson Justin crawled into her big four-poster bed to put on a puppet show. The bed had curtains all around so when they pulled them shut, Grandma Angel and Justin huddled in their own little world with Uncle Jake and Willie, who were puppets that came to life whenever the curtains closed them in.
Those puppets were real characters. Uncle Jake was almost bald and wore pinze-nez glasses. Willie, a big bird like Big Bird on Sesame Street, always butted in with a funny remark when someone else was talking.
Where was Gabriel, anyway!
Not that he was avoiding her, he just had things to do.
God had asked him to compose a trumpet fanfare for the arrival of baby Jesus on Earth, and that took work, writing a tune, setting the beat and marking the place for the heavenly host of angels to start singing.
Gabriel knew Grandma Angel was looking for him, but she was just going to have to wait.
Grandma Angel walked to the end of Gold Street, turned around, and walked back, remembering more of what happened down on Earth that day.
It was fun. Grandma Angel and Justin laughed their heads off as they maneuvered the puppets into a fight.
Yep, Uncle Jake and Willie got into a fight. There was no stopping them. Uncle Jake swung his arm and whacked Willie on the back and Willie, with his beak, pecked Uncle Jake’s bald spot. On and on they fought as Grandma Angel and Justin laughed and rolled around on the bed. Justin made Uncle Jake’s arm go wild and Grandma Angel made Willie bite everyone, including Justin’s nose.
Suddenly Justin leaned back too far and rolled off the bed, pulling the curtain down with him to the floor.
That was the end of the puppet show. They put up the curtain, straightened the bed and went to the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate.
That’s how Grandma Angel remembered it.
Heaven is supposed to be a place of eternal happiness, but she was lonely, walking on Gold Street back toward the Throne Room.
Maybe God would listen. She knocked on the door of the Throne Room’s huge arched entrance.
“Yes?” an angel said.
“Can I see God?” Grandma Angel asked.
“He’s busy!” the angel said. “He’s teaching a host of angels how to sing ‘Joy to the World.”
“But God says he’s there for you any time you need him, and I need him now.”
“What do you need him for,” the angel asked.
“I need to tell him a story about my grandson Justin.”
‘Well, you’ll just have to wait.”
That was a bit disconcerting. Grandma Angel had never before had to wait to speak with God. She was on his list of special people and could go to the Throne Room any old time.
But not this time.
She went back up Gold Street to Joy Lane, turned the corner and found a bench to sit on, alone with her memory.
She had an idea. Why not tell Grandpa to write it down and read it Christmas Eve.
This was a different day for her up in heaven. There she sat, doubting God about always being there for you, and contacting someone on Earth, which was against the rules.
She got hold of Clarence, who was down on Earth taking care of George trying to earn his wings, and asked him to deliver a message.
Sure enough. It got through.
And that’s the story how Gabriel and God were too busy for Grandma Angel, so she got in touch with her family on Earth, and that made everyone happy.