Not Too Early For a Christmas Memory

 A Christmas Gift In Disguise

    

Light snow falls in central Illinois throughout the day, delighting children and adults alike with the promise of snow angels and downhill sled runs. Our family of five counts twenty-four days until Christmas by opening the small windows on our paper advent calendar. Each window contained a short Bible verse about Jesus, the coming Messiah. Excitement builds among our grade school children as they list all the toys they want to get from Santa. Our ten-year-old son, Eric, anticipates performing the lead character in a play at church. During the last several weeks, he has memorized his lines and attended play practice. 

“Mom, my stomach hurts, and I’m hot,” Eric tells me about one week before the play. 

“Back to bed with you. I’ll get the aspirin and fix your toast. Does that sound good?” 

“Maybe it’s a 24-hour flu bug,” John, my husband, says hopefully.

I think aloud, “I hope so because Eric has been working hard on his part, and he would be so disappointed to miss the play.”

The following day, Eric broke out in spots over most of his body and our other two younger children, Rachel and Andy, started with fevers and stomach aches. Chickenpox, again!

“It can’t be,” I puzzle over the fact that all three had chickenpox during the summer, light cases that didn’t make them as sick as they are now. Their pediatrician confirms they can have chickenpox twice and must be quarantined two days past Christmas.

Christmas is canceled. No children’s play, no visits with Grandma and Grandpa and no Christmas Eve church service, our extended family’s holiday highlight. No playing in the snow and school Christmas parties for the kids. Everyone is in a disappointing funk. 

 Little itchy, red dots spread all over their bodies, worse than their summer bout. I scrambled to buy enough soothing anti-itch lotion and baking soda for their baths to alleviate their itchiness. Poor Rachel has pox covering the inside of her mouth. She eats cold foods and ice cream for several days as the illness continues. 

Nevertheless, their sickness may have canceled all the Christmas fun festivities, but all the pre-Christmas rush, stress and seasonal crankiness disappear. Instead, we got out the puzzles, played a gazillion board and card games, and watched movies. The children’s healthy recovery becomes our primary focus.  

The Lord Jesus’s appearance in our world came under challenging circumstances. No fanfare fit for a king, no clean palace with servants but a dirty stable and animal trough for a bed. His parents welcomed his miraculous birth with wonder and gratitude to God. The disruption of chickenpox blessed our family with precious time together away from the holiday hustle and bustle. As the snow melted with a promise of a white Christmas in the forecast, my disappointment transformed into gratitude to God for our children’s recovery and precious family time, a Christmas gift in disguise.