A Christmas to be remembered

​It was Christmas Eve.  Jason had to work at the tv studio so we packed all our Christmas food into laundry baskets, along with a festive table cloth, candles and a center piece and off we went to have Christmas eve dinner at the tv studio.

On the way home I had a text from our preacher, Paul.  He asked if I could get in touch with Patsy, a widow who lives alone and has no family to care for her.  He said he had tried to call and she wasn't answering the phone,  I called and she answered.  She said she was sick.  When I called Paul back, he had already called an ambulance to go to her house.  I called her back and told her to watch for it.

An hour and a half later, she called and said that the ambulance had never come!  So Tommy and John boy  went to get her and take her to the hospital.  They left her and came home and got a shower because at this point we didn't know what was wrong. 

At 11 o'clock p.m. she called that she thought they were going to keep her over night, so we went to bed.  At 4 a.m. the hospital called for us to come and get her!  WHAT?? 

So, the guys left to pick her up.  On the way out of our parking lot they looked over at the church building and water was pouring out of the building, down the driveway and into the road.  It was bitter cold here, so the water had frozen in the road and looked like an ice skating rink!  

When they had gotten Patsy safely home they came back to the church.  A pipe had broken in the ceiling and water was pouring into the church building, out the door and down the driveway.  After turning the water off, and sweeping water out of the door, they finally got home around 8 a.m. got another shower, and headed out to get Patsy's prescription.  (She has a kidney infection,)

This Christmas has taught me so much.  The first thing it taught me is just how selfish I am.  I had started to ask Patsy to come and spend Christmas day with us, and for purely selfish reasons, did not.

Second it taught me how the Lord always orchestrates things in our lives and how He always works things out for the good, if we but listen.

The most important thing it taught me though, is from now on I need to be aware of people around me who are alone and hurting, and invite them into the comfort and peace that our family has.  I won't make the mistake again of wanting to keep Christmas just for our immediate family.  There are "shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night" and they want to be invited in to see the Christ Child.  What if they had stayed out in those cold, barren fields and never come to the manger? 

He invites ALL to come and see Him.  Why don't we?