Christmas Miracles
/Today is December 23, and I have never been so totally unprepared for Christmas! There are no presents under the tree because in order to have presents under a tree, I would have had to purchase some gifts, which I have not done. I’ve not done one bit of Christmas shopping. I’ve not made one cookie, one loaf of fruit cake, nor have I made any Christmas candy. In fact, I’ve not even made a meal for nearly three weeks.
I’m not Scrooge, nor have I done what I’ve threatened to do for years - skipped Christmas. I am so unprepared for the very fast approaching Christmas Day because I had major surgery on December 6. Then two weeks later, just when I decided to get my Christmas groove on, get out the credit card, and start ordering from Amazon, I developed an infection that manifested itself in the surgical incision.
That meant that I was hospitalized for a few days and then discharged earlier this week to be cared for by home health care nurses and family members. Thank goodness, my step-daughter is a nurse, and she graciously stepped up to fill the gap and has been managing my care when home health has not been able to. So far, I’ve dodged going to a rehabilitation site for round the clock care, and I hope that trend continues.
Prior to having surgery, I had one Christmas goal: get the tree up and get it decorated. In part, I did this for selfish reasons. I wanted some Christmas cheer to greet me when I got home from the hospital.
Christmas 2021
Advent, a time of longing, of anticipation, of hope, was going to look different for me this year. I knew that. I also wondered what I would learn about this season that would be lived out in an entirely new way in 2021. I knew that old traditions would not be carried on; I just hoped to heal uneventfully in the quiet peace and comfort of my own home.
I was not looking for any special miracles, but soon I realized that each new day since my surgery contained at least one miracle of healing, provision, and/or protection. I was, and still am, very vulnerable, as I have been healing from all that has been involved in having surgery this time of year.
“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come. ”
As I ponder, this quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I am reminded of another Christmas Season when I was so “troubled in soul” and very poor.
The year was 1982.
The place was Ogden, Utah.
After sixteen years of marriage, earlier in that fateful year, unemployed, and a stay at home mom to five children under the age of fifteen, I suddenly was left with no means of financial or physical support when my husband left the family home. By the time Christmas rolled around that year, our situation was dire. I had no money at all. I was also under protective orders because of the physical abuse that I suffered at the hands of this man.
In November of that year, I had made a very major change in my religious and social life. I had left the Mormon Church, publicly declaring that I was renouncing my belief in it and my affiliation with it as I went forward to rededicate my life to Jesus Christ in a tiny Baptist church in my neighborhood.
To say that my life was upended with that decision is an understatement. Despite the upheaval of my circumstances, my faith was strong, and my life felt more anchored than it ever had been before.
A few weeks before Christmas, I was asked to share my story of redeeming grace at a shelter for the homeless that was sponsored by Christian churches in the area. When I returned home that day, I wondered how much longer I could survive before I too might be among the homeless, and yet that possibility did not really seem to be a probability as I knew that in time the legalities of a divorce would provide for the basic needs for my children and for myself as we would move into the future. I had returned to college and was working towards a teaching certificate, so I had hope for a future career.
The worry looming the largest in my mind was about how I would give my children some sort of Christmas. I went out for a run/walk and cried out to the Lord about my circumstances as my feet beat against the pavement. “Lord,” I prayed, “I just want my kids to have a Christmas Day that does not make them feel impoverished. Please provide us with what I will need for a Christmas meal, a gift for each child, and some simple pleasures like cookies and peanut brittle.” Making homemade peanut brittle was tradition that went back to memories of Christmas I had as a child.
The next day, my door bell rang. The chaplain from the homeless shelter was at my door. He said that they had decided that my family needed a Christmas gift box after hearing my story. I felt a bit awkward as I graciously thanked him for bringing us the gift. I’d never had to receive such gifts before. Usually, we were the ones having the kids buy a gift for those less fortunate as we gathered canned goods from our stock to share with others.
After the chaplain left, I gratefully began to take the contents from the box: a turkey, ten pounds of potatoes, canned goods including cranberry sauce, gifts for the children, sugar, flour, one pound of real butter, and, (can you believe it?) corn syrup and Spanish peanuts! Who puts Spanish peanuts in a Christmas box for the less fortunate? The short answer is: God does. I had every ingredient to make peanut brittle!
Whenever I begin to doubt God’s Providence and how He has always been faithful to provide for me, I remember those Spanish peanuts. There is not doubt that God heard my prayer that day when I wondered how I would provide for my children. He answered with this: I will provide. I will always provide. I will provide to uttermost. I will put Spanish peanuts in a box to help you remember that I am faithful.
Christmas miracles come in unexpected ways.
This year, nearly 40 years after that Christmas miracle of the Spanish peanuts, I have been reminded over and over again, that I can’t and shouldn’t get so caught up in providing perfect gifts and experiences for my loved ones; instead, I am to remember that in weakness and in dependence we most come to know the exceedingly miraculous good news that Jesus Himself is the only true and lasting gift that we can either give or receive.
As Bonhoeffer said, He is the reason we “look forward to something greater to come.”
This year, as 2021, comes to an end, so many are weary, and needy, and sad, and in deep grief. We long for better things to come as we move towards the new year.
We may feel very alone.
We long for a Christmas miracle.
Take heart.
The Christmas Miracle is best found when we are feeling most troubled and vulnerable. He seeks the poor in spirit.
“It is an exceedingly strange and seemingly ridiculous plan. In a world drunk with a desire for power and filled with those who take what they want by force, the miracle of Christmas is one of weakness not strength. It is a suggestion that divine love is more powerful than we think.”
My prayer for each of you is that you will find comfort and strength from this beautiful passage in Isaiah.
“Fear thou not; For I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand my righteousness. ”
( I quoted the King James Version of this verse because sometimes I just need to remember the beauty of the language of the King James Version, and I love the punctuation too! )
We are not alone, my dear friends. God Himself knows of our every need. May you experience your very own Christmas miracle this year. Let me know if it includes Spanish peanuts.
