An Unforgettable Christmas...

Our hope and prayer each Christmas is to have a happy, special and unforgettable Christmas holiday with our family. Cooking and making crafts with the grandkids, visiting Christmas events, and enjoying lots of "family time" together. I call it “making memories”. Having a one-of-a-kind holiday experience that continues to be talked about through the years to come, handed down from generation to generation. However, this Christmas season surpassed all I asked for or dreamed of. It all started when…

“Okay, is everybody ready?” Both sides of the family headed into the different vehicles. Preparations had been underway since the day before. Floors mopped, furniture dusted, and special dishes prepared until the list was finished. We all trooped out the door. Mike and my son-in-law, Kevin had left an hour earlier to make sure we had seats for the Christmas Eve program. Anticipation.

We all got to the church, got the kids into their respective classrooms and headed for our saved seats. Wow! The Dallas String Quartet was playing. (I would love to have their talent.) The violin pieces were awesome. The singing was wonderful. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sing due to a cold and a froggy voice. (THAT didn’t make the singing wonderful, thank you very much. I KNEW what you were thinking.) The pastor shared about the significance of Christmas. Next,we had communion. Then suddenly…

I noticed my daughter’s father-in-law rubbing his face intently. This continued for a while. Suddenly, he and his wife got up to leave. Then his wife returned, spoke to several of their children and they left the sanctuary also. Bewildered, I asked my daughter what was going on. They were taking her father-in-law to the emergency room at the nearby hospital. Whoa! We got the kids and returned to the house, awaiting news of the situation.

For the next few hours, some of the family spent time at the emergency room enduring countless tests while others waited at the house. The Christmas Eve dinner became a drop-in dinner, with people coming and going. We all prayed for a good report. Eventually, we got word that he was going to be sent home. Apparently, it was a false alarm. We were all thankful it had turned out all right. So...I did get my unforgettable Christmas, just not the way I had planned to. Perhaps it turned out better. We experienced the real meaning of Christmas...the birth of Christ, who later died that we might have life. The unexpected event gave us a true appreciation of life through Christ this season. What better gift to receive at Christmas?