An Unexpected Hour
Stories
Contents
“An Unexpected Hour” by Peter Andrew Smith
An Unexpected Hour
by Peter Andrew Smith
Matthew 24:36-44
John sat in front of all the boxes he had taken out of the basement. Each one of them had “Christmas Decorations” across the top in Lisa’s handwriting. Lisa always loved Christmas. Every year they were married she bought ornaments, lights, and manger scenes. She got such joy from thinking about decorating and all December the house would be an ever-changing Christmas scene.
John smiled as he remembered asking her if she ever got tired of Christmas. She tilted her head to one side and said, “Who could ever get tired of celebrating Jesus?” He wiped at his eyes. He missed Lisa with all his heart. He stared at the boxes wondering what he should do with them.
Part of him wanted to simply put them back into storage. He knew the first Christmas without her was going to be the hardest and maybe it would be simpler to just not decorate, ignore the season, and carry on as it nothing was different. Except he knew everything was different. The love of his life was gone, and he was going to have to spend this Christmas without her.
He opened the first box and saw the multi-colored lights Lisa loved to string everywhere. He had no idea how she did it. The lights would be unpacked and then in an afternoon they would disappear. When evening came, she would turn off the lamps and overhead lights and the soft colours of the Christmas lights would appear from behind curtains, banisters, and everywhere else she decided to place them. It was a treat for the eyes, and they would curl up on the couch together and while she watched television or read, he would simply admire the lights and let the spirit of the season fill him.
John closed the box. He didn’t think that he was going to catch the Christmas spirit this year. The hurt was too raw and too fresh. He missed Lisa with all his heart and while he knew and believed that she was at peace and with God that didn’t help the emptiness he felt in his life. He sat in front of the boxes and started to cry.
He let the pain and sorrow wash over him and the memories of Lisa and her love of Christmas, her death, and how his life had changed surrounded him. He let the great racking sobs come and they were almost as intense as they were the night he held her in his arms and she had breathed her last. He felt then that his life was over, that there was nothing left, that he would never know peace again. Eventually the sobs subsided, and he grabbed a tissue and blew his nose.
Looking the boxes, he decided there was no way he could handle seeing what was in them, much less decorate the house this year. He pushed the box of lights to one side. They were going to have to go back into storage. He wasn’t in any shape to deal with decorations this year. He stood up and grabbed the next box and when he did the top opened and the manger scene Lisa had made just after she had been diagnosed last year tumbled out. He put the box down and grabbed at the figures which had fallen out.
He held the figure of Mary in his hands. She looked so young, so vulnerable, so exhausted. Joseph looked tired and worn as if the earthly father of Jesus hadn’t slept in days. John remembered asking Lisa why she painted them that way since most manger scenes had them looking confident and serene. She had tilted her head and said. “Because I think that’s how they would have felt. They travelled so far and just had a baby. They never expected their lives to be like that, but they had faith even if they had no idea what was coming next.”
John sat back on the couch. He never expected to be alone. Of course, he also never expected to fall in love with someone so precious and wonderful as Lisa and to be blessed for ten years. John put the figure of Mary and Joseph in the window. He thought of their faith and trust in God. He reached in and added the angels and the shepherds. John knew he was surrounded with people who cared about him and were praying for him. He pulled out the tiny baby Jesus and set the other figures around him. Then he reached into the box and added the final piece, a banner which Lisa had made sure fit into the hands of the two angels “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.” John closed his eyes and gave thanks that Jesus had taken Lisa home and that one day he would join her and together they would be with God.
John pushed the other boxes out of the way and simply sat looking at the manger scene for a long time. He wasn’t sure if he would put up any other decorations this year or not. What he did know was that in the first time in a long time instead of dreading Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ birth, John felt peace.
*****************************************
StoryShare, December 1, 2019 issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
“An Unexpected Hour” by Peter Andrew Smith
An Unexpected Hour
by Peter Andrew Smith
Matthew 24:36-44
John sat in front of all the boxes he had taken out of the basement. Each one of them had “Christmas Decorations” across the top in Lisa’s handwriting. Lisa always loved Christmas. Every year they were married she bought ornaments, lights, and manger scenes. She got such joy from thinking about decorating and all December the house would be an ever-changing Christmas scene.
John smiled as he remembered asking her if she ever got tired of Christmas. She tilted her head to one side and said, “Who could ever get tired of celebrating Jesus?” He wiped at his eyes. He missed Lisa with all his heart. He stared at the boxes wondering what he should do with them.
Part of him wanted to simply put them back into storage. He knew the first Christmas without her was going to be the hardest and maybe it would be simpler to just not decorate, ignore the season, and carry on as it nothing was different. Except he knew everything was different. The love of his life was gone, and he was going to have to spend this Christmas without her.
He opened the first box and saw the multi-colored lights Lisa loved to string everywhere. He had no idea how she did it. The lights would be unpacked and then in an afternoon they would disappear. When evening came, she would turn off the lamps and overhead lights and the soft colours of the Christmas lights would appear from behind curtains, banisters, and everywhere else she decided to place them. It was a treat for the eyes, and they would curl up on the couch together and while she watched television or read, he would simply admire the lights and let the spirit of the season fill him.
John closed the box. He didn’t think that he was going to catch the Christmas spirit this year. The hurt was too raw and too fresh. He missed Lisa with all his heart and while he knew and believed that she was at peace and with God that didn’t help the emptiness he felt in his life. He sat in front of the boxes and started to cry.
He let the pain and sorrow wash over him and the memories of Lisa and her love of Christmas, her death, and how his life had changed surrounded him. He let the great racking sobs come and they were almost as intense as they were the night he held her in his arms and she had breathed her last. He felt then that his life was over, that there was nothing left, that he would never know peace again. Eventually the sobs subsided, and he grabbed a tissue and blew his nose.
Looking the boxes, he decided there was no way he could handle seeing what was in them, much less decorate the house this year. He pushed the box of lights to one side. They were going to have to go back into storage. He wasn’t in any shape to deal with decorations this year. He stood up and grabbed the next box and when he did the top opened and the manger scene Lisa had made just after she had been diagnosed last year tumbled out. He put the box down and grabbed at the figures which had fallen out.
He held the figure of Mary in his hands. She looked so young, so vulnerable, so exhausted. Joseph looked tired and worn as if the earthly father of Jesus hadn’t slept in days. John remembered asking Lisa why she painted them that way since most manger scenes had them looking confident and serene. She had tilted her head and said. “Because I think that’s how they would have felt. They travelled so far and just had a baby. They never expected their lives to be like that, but they had faith even if they had no idea what was coming next.”
John sat back on the couch. He never expected to be alone. Of course, he also never expected to fall in love with someone so precious and wonderful as Lisa and to be blessed for ten years. John put the figure of Mary and Joseph in the window. He thought of their faith and trust in God. He reached in and added the angels and the shepherds. John knew he was surrounded with people who cared about him and were praying for him. He pulled out the tiny baby Jesus and set the other figures around him. Then he reached into the box and added the final piece, a banner which Lisa had made sure fit into the hands of the two angels “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.” John closed his eyes and gave thanks that Jesus had taken Lisa home and that one day he would join her and together they would be with God.
John pushed the other boxes out of the way and simply sat looking at the manger scene for a long time. He wasn’t sure if he would put up any other decorations this year or not. What he did know was that in the first time in a long time instead of dreading Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ birth, John felt peace.
*****************************************
StoryShare, December 1, 2019 issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
