A christmas miracle

This time of year we either get excited about what presents are under the tree or the fact that it is Jesus' birthday. Yes, Jesus is the best present anybody could give me but that is a given. After that you ask whats next on the list. This year it was something that didn't make my christmas list. It was something I didn't think of and that money can't buy yet it warms my heart, brings a smilie to my face, and a tear to my eye quicker than anything ever could.

Many of you know that my grandfather has alzheimer's. Many of you know that it has made me grow up quicker than I ever thought in some ways. He hasn't remember who I was in years. It is a simple thing that I have come to terms with and accepted. Yet I still walk in his room holding on to a glimer of hope. There is a part of me that wants to wake up from the dream and everything go back to the way it use to be where playing spades, hearing stories from the Great Depression or WWII was a normal holiday event. For years I've held on to the slim possibility of him remembering that I was his granddaughter, his favorite, his only granddaughter just so I could see that smile and know he was as proud of me as I am of him.

Today I made a connection. The man who taught me how to swim, how to count by playing cards, how to be adventerous yet professional looked at me in the eye and called me by name. For five seconds I got my notebook moment. For five seconds it was all worth it. So today as I thank God for giving us his son, I also think Him for those five seconds where the older more appreciative version of myself could connect with my grandfather, my hero, for those fives seconds.

When the holiday is all about spending time and celebrating with friends and family. I think God for the presents He could only give me.