Here is the 20th Anniversary Edition of this much beloved modern Christmas classic. Perhaps best said by the former national director of Angel Tree: "The Special Guest is much more than just a well-written family story... it sprinkles the principles of forgiveness with the wonder that is Christmas." A family dealing with a tragedy when an unexpected guest arrives for the holidays... A stranger who seems to have mysteriously stepped out of the past... A surprising chain of events that will teach the family about the miracle of forgiveness... A special gift left behind Christmas Day that causes the family to realize there are times, when needed the most, that help can come unexpectedly and unannounced... Sometimes from a perfect stranger... This is a story befitting the most wonderous time of year. A time when we lift our heads from the day-to-day grind of life to look at humanity with our spiritual eyes. When we rejoice to hear the bells chime a message of hope for the world. When we look to believe there really is more to this world than just what we can see and hear with our natural senses... Open "THE SPECIAL GUEST" and enter a world we all want to believe to be true. Someone once said, "To feel the brush of the supernatural is to experience, firsthand, the heavenly messengers at work around us." This beloved story will renew your faith in miracles. Even more important, it will renew your faith in your fellowman. Introduction... The story opens Christmas weekend with 16-year-old Scott Reid working his bagboy job at the local super market. After watching an elderly man sitting outside in the cold all afternoon reading, Scott decides to approach the stranger to see if he needs help. The man, who is dressed in clothes as outdated as his vintage automobile, explains he was passing through when his car broke down. Not wanting the man who calls himself Zachery to be stranded over the long holiday weekend, Scott invites him home. Soon after the guest arrives, unexpected events begin to unfold that will leave the Reid family to wonder if more than chance brought the stranger to their home. Finally on Christmas morning, they waken to a most unexpected surprise. It's then the family discovers the identity of their guest. What they learn is most surprising and mysterious of all. . . 20 years ago "THE SPECIAL GUEST" grew from a story first written by Lee Allen for his young children, to a local bestseller in hometown Richmond Virginia, and from there to a national best seller that included a movie project with CBS. The story's timeless message of forgiveness, wrapped in the mystery of a very special visitor, will warm readers' hearts today as much as it did readers a generation ago.