The Unforgettable Gift

In a time of harsh headlines, good news is a balm for the soul. Here's #2 from the Twelve Blogs of Christmas.



The hospital waiting room had an artificial tree decorated with a couple dozen shiny blue ornaments. It was an honest attempt to brighten the somber mood outside the intensive care unit. 

Someone must have known how hard it is to wait when a loved one was on the other side of those swinging doors. Especially a few days before Christmas. 

Cindy had come to offer support to her friend Janice, but what could she say to a mom whose only child is terribly ill and the doctors don’t know why?

As the two young women sat staring at the Christmas tree, Cindy’s silence didn’t seem to bother her friend. In fact Cindy’s quiet presence was exactly what Janice needed most. 





With her child hooked up to beeping monitors and doctors running all these medical tests, Janice didn’t feel like having to respond to needless chatter. 

The long night stretched on and the women walked the hallways to stay alert. Cindy provided vending machine coffee at two in the morning. They began a routine of walking, then sitting, and every 10 minutes peeking through the window of the swinging doors.












Shortly after dawn, a doctor looking as haggard as the two women, slid into the seat across from them. Cindy tucked her hand into Janice’s. “Great news.” The doctor explained much more, but once Cindy heard those words, relief flooded her weary mind.


Christmas came early that year. A little girl would soon get well, and a friend with few words brought the unforgettable gift of her presence when it was needed most.

A friend loves at all times. A brother is born to share troubles. Proverbs 17:17

Popular posts from this blog

Dreaming the Dream

Image
Dreaming big dreams about the future is easy for kids. The only thing standing in the way is time.  Kid’s dreams are not about skills, or opportunities, or even practicality. Those things come much later.  My grandson hopes to be professional soccer player when he grows up. This week, a small piece of his dream came true when his Boys and Girls Club was invited to participate in pre-game activities with the Seattle Sounders Football Club.  He got to suit up in a real jersey and walk on the field with a real pro player. Imagine a young soccer player looking up to who he hopes to be one day. If you haven’t taken the time to talk to a child about their future dreams—you should.  They believe. As we get older we sometimes forget that dreams fuel our hopes—and that's something we all need. So, do you still dream? Or have you left those childhood thoughts behind?  S pending time with children will  inspire you to believe agai
Read more

Sexy Selfies: Posting for attention

Image
We’ve all seen the “selfie” pix on Facebook—those self-taken images in varying forms of dress (or undress). Usually they’re female poses taken in public restrooms, dressing rooms, bedrooms, and lots of what used to be private space. Thanks to selfies and social media, it’s open season on privacy—and modesty. Do you have a social media “friend” who has become a serial selfie? Most often selfies are young girls sharing their sexiness with the world. Serial selfies post hundreds of pictures, so it’s hard to ignore the display. The question is why do they do it. While I don’t approve of the sexy display of serial selfies, insecurity is at the root. Selfies collect “likes” to boost morale. The attention received is like a balm to their broken spirits. But the dark side of exhibitionism is feeling used—not unlike the girl searching for love and giving away her body in hopes of finding love. Selfies seek approval. They're locked in a perpetual cycle of posting pi
Read more

Wild or Tame? Which One Are You?

Image
Finally! Research that explains why I act the way I do. Columbia University’s Motivational Science Center studied people’s activities and what brought them the most happiness. Even more telling were how those activities changed as they aged. Twenty-somethings tend to equate happiness with high-energy activities. Words like excited and ecstatic are usually attached to spontaneous things—even risky things—and living life full throttle.  Researchers labeled this Promotion Motivation —the urge to take chances, including career moves that may not work out. Happiness comes from happenings—the more happenings, the more happiness. By age forty, adults associate happiness with things running smoothly at work and home. It’s also about feeling secure in relationships. Keeping healthy matters more too. This behavior is called Prevention Motivation —and people are more concerned with preserving and maintaining the things they value. It appears that time ofte
Read more