"Christ has no body now but yours." - St. Teresa of Avila
Merry Christmas!
After listening to today's Advent video from Dynamic Catholic and then reflecting on their message that "People inspire hope", I decided to share a story about a "Christmas Angel" from many years ago that gave me hope.
Eleven years ago I was in the hospital on Christmas Eve in Springfield, Missouri. I had been newly diagnosed with Chronic Myleoid Leukemia (CML) just two days earlier. My kids, at my insistence, had gone to Kansas for Christmas. My husband was in a room up the hall getting some much needed rest. My families tradition was to have a big family gathering every Christmas Eve and this would be the first time I wouldn't be there. It was about 8 p.m. and I remember feeling more lonely and afraid than I'd ever felt in my life. After only about 15 minutes of being alone, two young ladies came into my room. One of them approached me and presented me a handmade snowman. It was beautiful in its simplicity. It stood about 8" tall with the body of the snowman made of felt, standing in a miniature terracotta pot. I was told by the young lady that she had lost her father to cancer, and now in his remembrance she visited cancer patients on Christmas Eve. What a wonderful gesture! She didn't stay long. I thanked her for her gift and she left. When she was gone, I looked more closely at the snowman, and there clipped on the back with a clothes pin was a handwritten message on a small sticky note. It said "Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. God bless you and keep you. Someone is praying you." Wow - what a gift!
This stranger gave me hope! This stranger became my Christmas Angel!
There's a lot of negative things in today's society, and a lot of people who are going through difficult times. While Christmas is a joyous time, it can be lonely for some, and many, myself included, miss our loved ones who have passed more intensely at Christmas. If it is your first Christmas after losing a loved one or your are experiencing something difficult, like I was, it can be easy to feel down. For those who are going through a difficult time, I pray that you find comfort, peace, and hope.
I will end by sharing Dynamic Catholic's "action" for the day: "Get in the mess. Give hope when it is difficult this Christmas."
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