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Dec. 25th, 2005 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mmcnealyMerry Christmas! Hope you are well and with people who bring joy and laughter to your hearts. Below is a story I wrote this year for the church's Advent booklet, you might enjoy it or not. But whatever your religious belief I hope it makes you are think about what really matters at Christmas isn't the amount of money you have (or don't have), the presents you recieve (or get) but instead its the people who you care about.
The Best Christmas Ever
by Marion McNealy
Christmas as a child is so much more magical than as an adult. As a child you can still wonder how the presents got under the tree. As an adult, its too easy to forget the magic and thrill of Christmas. The decorations go up way too early, the frantic rush for presents and the inane carols played over and over at the mall, and the pressure of expectations that this Christmas be better than the last one. Often we forget the simple things are sometimes the most meaningful.
My best Christmas ever would probably be thought of by most people to be the worst, yet it shines in my memory like a bright star in a clear sky.
Growing up, we had very little money. At Christmas time we were usually the poorest, and 1984 was particularly bad financially. It was a cold winter, I had outgrown my old second hand coat, and there was no money for another one.
My family has a saying, “God will provide. We’ve never gone hungry; we’ve always had a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. God will provide for all our needs.” After having beans and rice several times in one week, I grumbled “We might not go hungry, but may wish we had!”
One night, five days before Christmas, there was a mysterious knock on the door. On our porch were large bags of groceries; in one of the bags was a large ham! God had provided our Christmas dinner, and I was in bliss, a ham for Christmas!
The Christmas box from Grandma had finally arrived after much anticipation; the living room was all bedecked with paper chains and popcorn strings, but still no tree. The night before Christmas Eve, Mom announced “Its time to go get the tree” and off we headed to the last tree lot open in town. In the frosty night, we looked at trees with no success. While my brother and I were trying to convince Mom to buy a very nice, but expensive, tree, the tree lot attendant asked my mother. “Do you like that one?” “Oh yes!” we cried. “Then take it. The lot closes tonight and they will be thrown away tomorrow.” God had provided us with food and now a tree.
Christmas Eve came and all of us children were in a flutter. When my father came home early, my mother announced that she and I were going shopping. “Shopping for what?” “Just wait and see” she replied mysteriously.
I still don’t know where the money came from, but we went to J.C.Penny’s and she bought me a coat. A new coat. It had never been worn by someone else. It was in style, didn’t have any stains and wasn’t a hand-me-down. I can still remember the new coat smell and the way the fleece collar fit.
I wore my new coat to the Christmas Eve service and as we sang “Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee…” I was truly joyful for the generosity and blessings of God.
We had good food for Christmas, presents, a tree and I had a brand new coat!
There have been a great many Christmases since this one, but this is the one that sticks in my memory as the best Christmas ever. This was the one where God provided the gifts, the tree and the food. But then again, doesn’t he provide this every Christmas with the gift of His Son, the Cross and the Communion Table?
The Best Christmas Ever
by Marion McNealy
Christmas as a child is so much more magical than as an adult. As a child you can still wonder how the presents got under the tree. As an adult, its too easy to forget the magic and thrill of Christmas. The decorations go up way too early, the frantic rush for presents and the inane carols played over and over at the mall, and the pressure of expectations that this Christmas be better than the last one. Often we forget the simple things are sometimes the most meaningful.
My best Christmas ever would probably be thought of by most people to be the worst, yet it shines in my memory like a bright star in a clear sky.
Growing up, we had very little money. At Christmas time we were usually the poorest, and 1984 was particularly bad financially. It was a cold winter, I had outgrown my old second hand coat, and there was no money for another one.
My family has a saying, “God will provide. We’ve never gone hungry; we’ve always had a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. God will provide for all our needs.” After having beans and rice several times in one week, I grumbled “We might not go hungry, but may wish we had!”
One night, five days before Christmas, there was a mysterious knock on the door. On our porch were large bags of groceries; in one of the bags was a large ham! God had provided our Christmas dinner, and I was in bliss, a ham for Christmas!
The Christmas box from Grandma had finally arrived after much anticipation; the living room was all bedecked with paper chains and popcorn strings, but still no tree. The night before Christmas Eve, Mom announced “Its time to go get the tree” and off we headed to the last tree lot open in town. In the frosty night, we looked at trees with no success. While my brother and I were trying to convince Mom to buy a very nice, but expensive, tree, the tree lot attendant asked my mother. “Do you like that one?” “Oh yes!” we cried. “Then take it. The lot closes tonight and they will be thrown away tomorrow.” God had provided us with food and now a tree.
Christmas Eve came and all of us children were in a flutter. When my father came home early, my mother announced that she and I were going shopping. “Shopping for what?” “Just wait and see” she replied mysteriously.
I still don’t know where the money came from, but we went to J.C.Penny’s and she bought me a coat. A new coat. It had never been worn by someone else. It was in style, didn’t have any stains and wasn’t a hand-me-down. I can still remember the new coat smell and the way the fleece collar fit.
I wore my new coat to the Christmas Eve service and as we sang “Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee…” I was truly joyful for the generosity and blessings of God.
We had good food for Christmas, presents, a tree and I had a brand new coat!
There have been a great many Christmases since this one, but this is the one that sticks in my memory as the best Christmas ever. This was the one where God provided the gifts, the tree and the food. But then again, doesn’t he provide this every Christmas with the gift of His Son, the Cross and the Communion Table?
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Date: 2005-12-25 11:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-26 02:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-26 02:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-26 03:38 am (UTC)yes, and...
Date: 2005-12-26 01:09 pm (UTC)I hope they still remember that presentation fondly, because i sure do...