She feared this would be her last Christmas. A Guideposts family classic from 1982.
Where did i get the idea of a family Christmas pageant? I don’t really know. All I can say is that when the idea came to me, I felt that I might never see Christmas again.
It was June. I’d just gone through major cancer surgery that hadn’t been fully successful. Once a month I would travel 250 miles to Houston for chemotherapy, and returning home I felt sick to death.
The days were long. My husband, Gene, is a telephone repairman, and we live on a hilltop in the farm country of central Texas. It’s beautiful country, but I had no energy to go out in it. I’d just sit by the window and watch our horse loping from the barn to the shade of the mulberry tree. I’d lost my appetite and my hair, but, worst of all, at times I was too sick to care whether or not I got well.
My family tried hard to bolster my spirits, but I couldn’t seem to focus on anything. Then I tried playing a little game with myself. Get rid of all those gloomy thoughts, Ella Ruth, I told myself. Start thinking only good, bright thoughts. And when I asked myself what was good and bright, I came up with—Christmas, my favorite time of the year.
If only, I thought. If only I could feel that every day was leading me nearer and nearer to Christmas.
But what could I do? Start my Christmas shopping early? In the summer? No, that would be silly. Well, maybe I could plan a special celebration that would bring my family all together. And, of course, it should honor Jesus’ birth. I had read somewhere that cancer patients should set goals—and a Christ-honoring Christmas became one of my goals.
What I really wanted to do was bring the Christmas story to life for my grandchildren. Maybe a Christmas play… Yes! But how? Where? With what? My mind and body were weak. How could I put a play together?
This story is from the December 2016 edition of Guideposts.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2016 edition of Guideposts.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EVERYDAY GREATNESS: Jessica Manfre
Uniting military and civilian communities through acts of kindness
The Cake Mixer Mishap
I should’ve listened to Mom
Star Turn
I worried about my introverted daughter. Then Olivia flipped the script
Unearthed
I pulled the overgrown remnants of my herb garden, putting it to bed for the season, and went over a mental list of all the things to do before winter began—change out the screens for storm windows, finish the yard work, bring down the draft blockers from the attic.
Confidence Builder
My five boys didn't need me to homeschool them anymore. Now I wanted to be good at something else. But could I?
Ordinary People
The story behind Norman Rockwell's celebrated painting
A Woman of Courage
After I was widowed, fear took over my life. How could I trust anyone if I couldn't trust God?
Keep on Truckin'
How to bring a couple back together: share a long-haul drive in an 18-wheeler
My Answer to Pain
Inflammation was wreaking havoc with my health. Was God trying to show me a better way to live?
Letters From Phil
My older brother and I went our separate ways: he to the Air Force, me to a marriage that didn't last. He lived a rough-and-tumble life, but that's not what really worried me