Some of my Christmas People

I have been thinking lately about all the people in my life who have been "Christmas in the flesh" to me.  That is, who have embodied the real message of Christmas to me, all year long.  Some have been in Heaven now for many years, and some are still living, though maybe not in my current area.  I decided to write about some of these people, in tribute to my great affection for them.  To do this more easily, I am using an acrostic with the letters in Christmas.  This, of course, limits me to those mentors whose names begin with those 8 different letters.  To those of you who know you should be on my list, accept my apologies and know that eventually I will think of a list that will enable me to include you!  I am very good at lists, you know....

C is for Camilla Henry, who was part of our church in Rome, New York.  We pastored there from 1968 until 1975.  Camilla was raising her grandchildren at that time and was very much a part of our fellowship.  She was very loving and very giving, especially to a young pastoral couple.  My biggest memory is of the time we had to take our newborn Daniel to the hospital in Syracuse for NICU care, due to an immature liver.  We took our camper and set it up near the hospital and stayed there so I could nurse him until he was released.  One day when "Cam" passed her bank, God told her to draw out a specific amount for us to help in the expenses.  She obeyed, and, of course, it was exactly the amount we needed.  I am so thankful for God's servants who hear and obey His voice!

H is for Helen Nichols, my Diabetes Educator here in Custer.  In 2008 I really needed an understanding friend to guide me through those first frightening days of my diagnosis.  Helen was so very caring, and seemed to know just how to teach me what I needed to know - in the way that I would best learn it.  She became personally involved in my life and I will be forever grateful!

R is for my friend in Oshkosh, Ramona Kugler.  She was the only one I can really call my "soul sister" and God gave her to me before I even met her!  Before we were even introduced in 1989, I saw her across the room and said to my husband, "Oh, there are the Kuglers!"  We all racked our brains for years to figure out how I knew them when we had never met.  Ramona became my best friend and we shared much in the short time we had before she died from an infection incurred during a successful liver transplant.  I did not have a chance to really say goodbye and when I felt her appear to me in a dream/vision a few days later, to say goodbye to me, I asked God if He would really do that for me - let her come to say goodbye to me.  He said that yes, He would.  And I asked if He really gave her to me before we even met, and He said that yes, He did.  There are very few occasions when I have felt as much love as I did in that moment!

I is blank because I just cannot think of a person whose name begins with I for this list.  Maybe sometime.

S is for Susie Treyz, a part of the church family that led me to Christ in Binghamton, New York.  Sister Treyz cared for me and loved me into the Kingdom.  She was a great prayer warrior and I always wanted to be like her.  One thing I remember is her entry in my Autograph book, "Be good, sweet maid.  Let all who will, be clever."

T is also blank because God has not brought to my memory anyone whose name begins with T.

M is for my mom, Mildred Brown.  There is not paper enough to list all the Christmas qualities that she embodied to me, and to our whole family.  Her love, caring, generosity, patience, advocacy, shepherding, her peace-making, her gentleness....well you get the picture.  I want to be just like her when I grow up!

A is for Andy and Barb from Lincoln, generous in our times of need, friends always.

S is also for Skippy Beckwith, our first and best and most loving baby-sitter!  She will live always in our hearts.

James 3:17 says that "...the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness.  Then it is peace-loving and courteous.  It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds.  It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere."  (TLB)  My Christmas People embody this wisdom and have "set the bar" for me. They have been Christmas gifts to me through the years.  Do you have such a list that you can use during your praise and prayer time this Christmas season?  If so, tell that to Jesus, and then tell that to the people involved.  Maybe you will become a gift to them, in this way!

On our way to 50!

If ever there was a day to blog, it would have to be today. When we think back to 44 years ago on this date, our first thought is that it seems so long ago. The second thought, of course, is that it seems like just yesterday. It would have been impossible to look this far into the future, and we did not try. Now that I look back, though, I think how young we were and how little we actually knew about what we were getting ourselves into. We took on that future with hope and confidence and trusting in the Lord. It is a good thing that we can only live a day at a time. Some of those future days would have scared us, and some would have been so sad that we would have wanted to not continue on with life. But here we are at 44 years and we both agree we would not want anything to be different. If we had it to do over, we would not change a thing, except to serve our Lord better and bring Him more glory than perhaps we have. Each stage of our journey so far has had its struggles, but also its triumphs and joys. The current stage is no different, except that we both agree that old age is not for sissies! There are two things that I especially want to say on this page, on this day, for all the world to see. One is that I love my husband today even more than I did 44 years ago, and in a deeper and more mature way. The second is that we want all the young people in our family to know that it really is possible and desirable to have a long and lasting marriage. The committment must be there and God must help you. Don't settle for what the world offers you and don't buy into their misunderstanding of what real marriage is. Happy anniversary, my sweetheart! May God give you many more years of good health, peace, love, joy - and may all of them be spent with me!