I don't think I'll ever forget this Christmas as long as I live.  It has been nothing short of miraculous!

For starters, I've discovered that my job is safe and secure, which is more than I can say for a lot of people in this troubled economic time.

I found out that my twin brother and his wife are adopting a baby boy from China; they've been trying to have kids, but no luck.  So they turned to adoption; the adoption was approved.  All they have to do now is for the doctors to give the all-clear, and their new son will be allowed to join them.  He is two years old, an adorable little peanut.

I found out that my wife's sister is cancer-free.  She just had the last of her treatments for breast cancer, and the doctor has pronounced her cured, after five long years of battling this thing.

I found out that my great-aunt Maudie has been moved to a new nursing facility after over a year of court battles and allegations of abuse at the home she'd been at previously.  She is ninety-nine years old; she does not deserve that kind of treatment.  She was one of the patients being abused; it was a scary, ugly time. 

Now Maudie can finally get the care she needs/deserves, without us worrying about whether she is going to fall out of her bed again, or be given the wrong medications.

In addition, my little nephew (on my wife's side of the family) has been allowed a chance to live, grow.  He is four years old, has serious physical/mental disabilities, and he just underwent an experimental treatment for his cerebral palsy.  He is doing much better, according to my sister-in-law.  It's been nothing short of astonishing.

I saw little Mikey on Christmas Day; the change in him was startling.  It was enough to make this grown man cry like a newborn baby.

I don't know what I've done to deserve all this good fortune in my life.  I'm just a human being trying to make his way in this world; I don't deserve all this preferential treatment from God, or from anybody else.  I am enjoying it, don't get me wrong; it's just that I'm not used to having so many good things happen to me at once.

Ever since four days before Christmas, these things have been going on, and you can imagine how I am feeling at the present time.  Floating on cloud nine.  Walking on air.  Feel like kissing/hugging every person I come in direct contact with.  Feel  like shouting "Hallelujah!!" or clicking my heels. 

Any number of these extreme emotional actions would be appropriate for me right now.

I have also made peace with my kids, ages 11, 12, and 15.  They acted like they were appreciative of the hard work I went through in selecting their gifts, and they were more than willing to help me and the wife with feeding the homeless at our church on Christmas Day. 

They won't admit it, but they enjoyed themselves; in fact, they've already told me that they want to do it again next Christmas.

I don't know what the new year will bring, but for now, I intend on enjoying the many blessings that God's bestowed upon me.  Maybe it's because I've been spending more time in prayer/reading the Holy Book, I don't know; however, I intend on thanking God at any chance I can get, and I plan on spreading my good fortune/news to others. 

Pay it forward, as it were.

If I can make a difference in a person's life, spread the good news of Christ, have people see Christ in me, in my actions, then all of this will be worth everything. 

I only hope that people will see what I am doing and understand why Christ is so important in my life.  If I can give them a sense of hope, share my testimony with them, make a difference in their lives, then it will be great.  If not, I will choose to praise Him anyway; He is worthy of all my praise/time!

I only hope that you had as good of a Christmas as I did; if not, I pray that God gives you the hope, a sense of peace that passes all understanding and that you learn to trust in Him, realize that He will never leave you or forsake you.  EVER.  He loves you that much.

May God bless you in the coming year, and may you come to the realization of why He was born, and why we have holidays like Christmas.