Last year, God gave our family the sweetest Christmas Eve miracle. My dad was able to leave the nursing home to come to my house for dinner and an evening with our family.  On the days before and the days after, he was too weak and fragile to travel. Yet on Christmas Eve, God gave him a great day. I had prayed for that day for weeks.

Dad was very alert and ate a double portion of his Christmas dinner. Although it was pureed, he gobbled it up happily as though it were a feast. He sang songs with us that night as my son Taylor played guitar. I have the sweetest video of him smiling and singing, “How Great Thou Art”. It was not just a song to Dad, but a prayer that he lived out in faith in front of all who loved him.

Later that night, I bundled him up and took him back to the nursing home. The nurses met us at the door, and said they had never seen such a big smile on my dad’s face. My boys and I dressed him in his pajamas and tucked him into bed and said prayers with him. He hugged us and told us that he loved us. He fell instantly asleep, as we turned to go. I cried all the way home. I was so overcome with gratitude for the blessing of the day and with the burden of knowing that that would be his last Christmas with us.

This Christmas, I have sweet memories, but I do not have Dad. He went to live with Jesus and my mom on January 27. I was with him when he took his last breath as he was instantly healed by Jesus. While I long to have one more Christmas with him, I would not bring him back for anything in the world. He is well and healed and whole and happier than he has ever been, so is Mom. They cannot come back to me, but I can go to them (2 Samuel 12:23).

I was so blessed to be the child of these two incredible people. They taught me about Jesus and took me to church and lived godly lives in front of me. From my mom, I learned how to serve and love people. My dad taught me humility and what unconditional forgiveness looks like. It is hard to explain but, because of their lives and their deaths, I am able to love deeper now. The hurt caused by their deaths has caused has left a more tender place in my heart. They have had more impact on who I am as a person than anyone else in this world. They introduced me to Jesus and I accepted Him as my Savior. There is no greater gift in this life that parents can give their children. Mom and Dad knew what really mattered and they shared it with me, and, as a result, our separation will be temporary because I will go to be with them and my Savior one day.

While I felt like an orphan when they died, I know I am not really, because my Heavenly Father is with me every day. He dries my tears on the sad days and rejoices with me on the happy days.

God gives us the blessing of family. This Christmas, let us hold our families a little bit tighter, linger a little bit longer, exchange genuine smiles, memorize the sound of their laughter, the feel of their touch. Too soon, it may be our last Christmas with them.

If you’re grieving for someone this Christmas, give yourself permission to cry. Release everything to the Lord, including any regrets about your departed loved one. Jesus loves us, and He is ready to hold us and bridge the gap between us and any pain.

Let’s ask God to love us through this Christmas this year and love through us this Christmas. Remove our focus from our problems and set it on Him and loving other people. His grace, hope, peace, love, comfort and joy this season are ours to embrace in the arms of Jesus. He waits to receive all who would come to Him, and He has a Heavenly purpose for each one of us here on earth. May we celebrate the presence of God’s Son Jesus and the eternal life that He brings as the miracle of this Christmas season.

Dear Lord:  I know I will shed many tears this Christmas. I also know that You will dry every one. Thank You for Your unspeakable love for us and for making it possible for us to see our loved ones again.  Thank You that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  Matthew 1:23

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15