title: The Memory Quilt: A Christmas Story for Our Times
author:  T.D. Jakes 
description: ...[Jakes] stitches the story of the Virgin Mary into a modern-day tale that's inspiring and warmhearted...sharp, sassy Lela is the real draw here. And as she stumbles and rights herself, Jakes achieves his purpose: teaching the Bible, gently. -- Kristi Lanier, "The Washington Post"
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  “It’s our first Christmas together.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Our first Christmas,” Elise repeated as they touched their glasses together.
  They sat for a while, just enjoying the moment and this quiet time together,
  but Elise had to tell Jake how she felt or she thought she’d burst.
  
  
  “I saw the cradle,” she said quietly. “It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you
  ordered it.”
  
  
  He swirled the wine in his glass and leaned back on his elbow. “I didn’t.”
  
  
  “Sure you did. I saw it.”
  
  
  “I made the cradle.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “I made the cradle,” he repeated.
  
  
  “Oh, Jake, why?”
  
  
  “Because I wanted a baby, too.”
  
  
  Silence followed his words and Elise knew he wasn’t telling her his true
  feelings. “There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
  
  
  The words were in his throat, but he couldn’t force them out. He’d waited for
  this moment forever, but fear kept him silent, kept him prisoner, kept him
  chained to the past. He found it hard to express something he felt so
  intensely, especially since his