Christmas Eve 2017

    All we have now are the memories.

                         Chris

Timely Life Lesson Shared by Our Nephew Will Evans

Photo shared by Will.

     Our nephew, Will Evans, shared a real-life lesson a friend of his received from the Lord.  It is so timely, not just for me but for so many other hurting hearts.  I share it here with the prayer it will encourage you as it has me.  

     Caregiver, stay on your knees and keep looking up.  The Lord knows every ache of your heart and sees every tear you cry.  You are not alone - and you are loved with an everlasting love.  

     And Merry CHRISTmas!

                                                  Chris 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     I was in Dollar Tree last night and there was a lady and two kids behind me in the LONG line.  One was a big kid, one was a toddler.  The bigger one had a pack of glow sticks and the baby was screaming for them so the Mom opened the pack and gave him one, which stopped his tears.  He walked around with it smiling, but then the bigger boy took it and the baby started screaming again.  Just as the Mom was about to fuss at the older child, he bent the glow sticks and handed it back to the baby.

     As we walked outside at the same time, the baby noticed that the stick was now glowing and his brother said "I had to break it so you could get the full effect from it." 

     I almost ran because l could hear God saying to me, "I had to break you to show you why I created you.  You had to go through it so you could fulfill your purpose.  That little baby was happy just swinging that 'unbroken' glow stick around in the air because he didn't understand what it was created to do which was 'glow'."

     There are some people who will be content just "being" but some of us that God has chosen, we have to be "broken".  We have to get sick.  We go through divorce and financial struggle.  We have to bury our brother, spouse, parents, best friend, or our child because, in those moments of desperation, God is breaking us but when the breaking is done, then we will be able to see the reason for which we were created.

       Shared by Will Evans

  

Memories of Christmases Long, Long Ago - It's About Family

     We all know that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus.  Yet the gatherings, gifts, and dinners seem to be more about family.

     That seems Biblical, too, as the Bible tells us that in the time of creation, God created a family - Adam and Eve - and placed them in the Garden with His blessing to multiply.  And when it was time for the Savior to come into the world, Jesus was born into a family.  The Bible also refers to the Most High God as "Father", and our Savior as the "Son".  

     So Christmas truly is about family!  And that's what makes the memories so tender and so precious: memories of time spent together as a family, enjoying not just the food and gifts, but each other, too.  And why it is so painful when there is an empty place left with the homegoing of our loved ones.

     In all of my life, I have always had Christmas with my family.  Even after getting married and the years my husband and I lived in other states, my husband always got me to my parents' home for Christmas.  

     But this year, Christmas will be totally different.  For the first time ever, we will celebrate the holiday without either of our parents and we will not be gathering at the family homeplace.  New family traditions will have to be created, new memories made without Momma and in a different place.  I know in my head this must happen, but in my heart I'm already I'm homesick.

     Caregiver, while you still have your loved one with you, make memories!  Take photos of them, especially when others come to visit them.  If their mind is still clear, encourage them to talk about how Christmas was when they were growing up.  If you can, video them telling their stories.  These things may sound silly or too much trouble but it will make your loved one feel important and a part of the holiday.  And when that loved one is no longer with you, these things will be priceless.

     Cherish the moments for, like the Holiday Season, you will look around and realize they are over too quickly.  Don't take into your tomorrows the pain of "I wish I had", but rather, smile through your tears, "I'm so glad I did!" 

     Caregiver, remember that you are loved with an everlasting love.  Stay on your knees and keep looking up.

Shared in love,

                              Chris

Our Christmas tree from 1968 - cut from the woods ourselves!

Memories of Christmases Long, Long Ago - Daddy's Childhood Christmas

School photo of Douglas Evans taken about 1935 or 1936

     In my post yesterday, I shared a story Momma wrote for me about how Christmas was when she was a little girl.  While her parents didn't have a lot of money, they made a home for her and her siblings and she had good memories of Christmas.

     But Daddy didn't talk much about how it was growing up.  His parents divorced when he was young and he didn't have the same kind of home Momma had.  I once asked Daddy what toys he received at Christmas.  He only said that he remembered a couple of times when he got a cowboy hat and a pair of cap pistols with a holster.  The other Christmases, he was given a new shirt or a new pair of trousers.  He didn't say much more, just that he guessed his parents did the best they could.

     When we were growing up, Daddy would be fussy when we decorated for Christmas.  But after the tree was up and Momma had everything festive and pretty, I would see him looking around under the tree at the gifts.  He would always find those with his name on them and then he seemed OK.  We were going to have Christmas, and he was included - everything was OK.

     Christmas always has a big place in our lives, making both good memories and bad.  And we carry those memories with us the rest of our lives.  

     Today, I want to remember Daddy and share memories of Christmas when he was with us.  Daddy was only 49 when the Lord took him to Heaven.  I have too few Christmas memories of Daddy.  And this Christmas, I miss him terrible. 

     Caregiver, you are making memories today that will last the rest of your life, long after your loved one is gone.  Do good things today to make warm memories for yourself and those you love, for they will have memories to carry into their tomorrows, too.

Shared in love,

                              Chris

Dad and Mom, Christmas 1975 -
our last Christmas with Daddy this side of Heaven

  

Memories of Christmases Long, Long Ago - Momma's Childhood Memories

C

Free clip art courtesy of webweaver

     Pastor said once that at Christmas, all hearts turn to home.  I know this is true for me, and even more acutely now that I'm facing my first Christmas as an orphan.  With Momma's homegoing this past March, I have begun grieving the passing of my Dad and my older brother, Bill, all over again.  So Christmas this year is going to be really, really different and for me, very, very hard.

     My husband keeps reminding me that I had many good years with my family, and especially the past 7 when we had the privilege of caring for Momma.  I know this is true, yet I'm still homesick and longing for home, the home of my childhood.  

     As I travel this rough part of my journey, I want to say first to you, Caregiver, do those things today that will be a good memory for you when the season changes and your loved one is no longer with you.  And share those memories because in the sharing, the memory stays fresh and alive withing you.

     And I want to share some memories, too, as I work thru this new way of celebrating Christmas.

     The first that I want to share in these days until Christmas is a story my Momma wrote for me about how Christmas was when she was growing up in the Coal Fields of West Virginia.  I share it here to remember her and to remind all of us how different Christmas was back then.

                   Chris

~~~~~~~~~

Mom when she was a little girl.

  Christmas In the Coal Fields

by Audella Grubb Evans

     Growing up in the mountains and in the Coal Fields of West Virginia wasn't always easy.  We had very few conveniences.  In the Coal Camp where I lived, we had one store that was owned by the Coal Company.  The store had a little of everything, but not a lot of toys or things for Christmas.  The miners' wages were not high, and transportation was limited, there were no buses and only a few people owned cars - we did not.  So, very little shopping was done.

     But we received catalogues thru the mail!  Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Aldens - we called them "wish books".  And they became well-worn!  We would choose 1 or 2 items from the "Wish Book" and our parents would go to Beckley, the nearest town to us, where they had stores.  They would try to purchase something for us.  They would get what they could afford.  I always got a beautiful doll.  And if it wasn't the item from the "wish book", that was OK - we were happy with what we got for Christmas.

     Dad didn't want to throw the catalogues away, so after Christmas, we would fold down the pages and make a door stop out of our "wish books".  

     We always had a Christmas Tree - one Dad cut from the woods and brought in.  We did have lights for the tree and some ready made bulbs, but mostly we made our own tree decorations.  We always thought we had the most beautiful Christmas Tree ever!

     The miners had a Union and throughout the year the men would each put a little money into a fund.  The Treasurer, my Uncle Fred Schlager, would use that money to buy nuts, candies, and fruit.  Then he would fill a large brown paper bag with these goodies - one for each child in a family.  We always looked forward to that special treat on Christmas Eve!  These items weren't plentiful back then, like they are today.

     And Christmas Eve usually brought snow - snow that would last for 1 or 2 months!

     What I remember most was our family being together.  We shared our memories and love toward each other and our neighbors.  Not exactly a Norman Rockwell Christmas, but it was ours!  And it was precious.

     Shared with love, 

  Mom