Greetings from Howe, Texas

Merry Christmas Eve!

I have spent the day cooking and preparing for Christmas Day lunch which will see many family members at the hospital tomorrow. Geni, Travis and a guest will be arriving at Mom and Dad’s between 8:30 and 9:00 in the morning. Then we will pack cars and trucks with cakes and pies, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy and salad. Drink mixes will go in empty pitchers to be filled at the hospital and it is going to be a great party. Mom called it the Christmas tailgate! I loved it.

She had the most wonderful night and got into a room around 1:00 this afternoon. Her nurse from the ICU warned the nurse who was to take over her care that she must be very careful as she would want to take Mom home in her bag because “she is the sweetest woman they have ever had in the ICU.” I must say, these nurses have great taste! I feel relatively sure that we will not only share lunch with our families but with members of the staff as well. Daddy worked it out for us to have our lunch in the waiting room and the charge nurse has promised that they will wheel Mom to us. They are a great bunch at Wilson N. Jones.

As for me, besides cooking most of the day, I missed Geni and Travis. This is the first time in their lives I have spent Christmas Eve without them and missed Christmas Eve worship, but it was important for Dad to have his family around him on Christmas Eve this year and I am glad we could be here.

We have finally completed this long and arduous journey. The tree is lit. Shopping is over. Meal prep is almost finished. Packages are wrapped and are awaiting their recipients. We travel in relative safety, speed and comfort to reach our destinations and are welcomed with hugs and hollers when we arrive at the homes of the ones we love so dear.

But for Mary and Joseph it was not so. They traveled with one walking and one riding. Slow was the pace. I never read if they traveled with a group, so I am assuming it was just Mary, Joseph and a small donkey. Mary, being in her late pregnancy, rode the donkey without complaint. Joseph may have walked in silence contemplating his young wife and the child she was carrying and his purpose in the life of this most special child placed in his charge. When they arrived in Bethlehem there was no family to greet them. No hugs and hollers, just the reality that they would spend the night somewhere,and there, their child would be born. There was no family to celebrate this birth, just some farm animals and shepherds.

But tonight their gifts would not come with paper and bows. Instead, on this night with the stars overhead and a manger nearby Mary and Joseph would deliver the greatest gift of all and this gift would be heralded by a heavenly choir of angels singing, “Glory to God in the Highest and peace to all.” And the shepherds would tell the rest.

According to my clock, in 14 minutes it will be Christmas Day. My dearest friends, I pray your Christmas Day is spent with your family or friends and you experience the joy that this day can bring. But sometime tomorrow pretend you are a shepherd and tell someone about the birth of Jesus. Then tell them how you prepared room in your heart for the Savior to enter and your journey to Bethlehem.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Please continue to pray for Mom and Dad and have a blessed and Merry Christmas. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.