Wilfred Peterson

The statuette of an angel holding the hand of a little boy had been placed on a neglected back shelf in an antique shop. It was covered with soot and dust, lost amidst the clutter of jars, dishes, and ornaments.

A man browsing through the shop discovered the figurine and took it in his hands. He had an inspiration: he would rescue it from oblivion, restore it, and give it a place of honor among his Christmas decorations.

At home, in his basement workshop, the man covered the angel and the child with glistening white paint. Then he painted the wings of the angel and the hair of the little boy with sparkling gold. Each brush stroke worked magic. The old, grime-covered statuette vanished, and a shining, new one appeared. The statuette was transformed before his eyes into a thing of radiant beauty.

As the man painted, he thought: Isn't this what happens to people at Christmas? They come to the end of the year dust-covered from the struggle. And then Christmas inspires them to repaint the better angels of their nature with love and joy and peace!

The art of repainting the angel! This is man's lifelong task: never to stay down in the dust and the dirt, but, heroically, to rise again after each fall--to create a new life.

Repainting the angel! A man need never lose his ideals, dreams, and purposes. He can always make them gleam again with the glory of renewed hope.

Repainting the angel! There is a hidden goodness within every man, and he has the power to bring it forth.

Repainting the angel! Each high thought a man thinks works magic. It helps to transform him and renew his spirit. Just as gold paint will change a statuette, golden thoughts will change a man.

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