CHRISTMAS MIRACLES

CHRISTMAS MIRACLES

This month, I don't write of traditions or scrumptious holiday goodies for the tummy, but of something more substantial for the soul. 

I believe in miracles. One Christmas, when my first child was born a week before the 25th, I longed for a tree and decorations for the house, but hubby had to work and taking care of my son took all my energy. Just two days before Christmas, just as I was putting him down to sleep and Bill was cleaning the dinner dishes, the doorbell rang. 

Our next door neighbors greeted us with a 3 foot tree, a bag of lights, a wreath, ornaments, and a bottle of wine! After decorating the tree and hanging the wreath, we all toasted the holiday (I had tea because I was breast feeding). Then they invited us to Christmas dinner. For us, it was a Christmas miracle.

Many people have received holiday miracles: 

During World War 2, a mother whose son was MIA and presumed dead received a postcard on Christmas Day from an excited postman. It was from her son, writing that he was in a German prison camp. He was released when the war ended and reunited with his family. (Reader's Digest via Reminisce Magazine, © 2017 Trusted Media Brands, Inc, http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/christmas-miracles-true-stories/) 

On Christmas Eve in 2009, a pregnant woman was in labor but before delivering her baby she went into cardiac arrest. Unsuccessful in resuscitating the mother, the doctor performed a Cesarean to try to save the baby. It was a boy, who had a very weak pulse. Suddenly, the clinically-dead woman's heart started beating. Both made a full recovery - another Christmas miracle! (Cracked, “6 True Stories to Make Sane People Believe in Xmas Miracles”, Robin Warder, (http://www.cracked.com/article_21996_6-true-stories-to-make-sane-people-believe-in-xmas-miracles.html)

Here's one more: A five year old understood that times were tough for her family, and her wish for a doll and a pair of shoes would not be fulfilled. So she wrote a letter to Santa, tied it to a helium-filled balloon and sent it toward the North Pole. Well, it drifted, as balloons sometimes (always) do. It popped, fell down and was discovered by a California woman who read the letter.
Using the Internet, she ferreted out the young girl's location, and sent a nice big bundle of Christmas presents for the little girl to open from "Santa". (TopTenz, “Top Ten Amazing Real Life Christmas Miracles”, Morris M., 2013, http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-amazing-real-life-christmas-miracles.php)

No matter what you believe (or don't believe), miracles happen every day. I tend to believe more happen around the holidays. Is it that people feel more generous and happy? Or maybe that our spirits are more tuned into the magic of the season? Or could there be angels hovering around us, helping us out in small and secret ways as well as sudden and amazing ways. Believe it or not, the miracles won't stop. They just might pass you by, though...Stay alert!