A ‘good’ Christmas

By Mark Azzara

Dear Friend,

I don’t know about you but I had a pretty good Christmas.

It all started Dec. 23 when I began sneezing. And then coughing once in a while. My cold didn’t stop me from attending an annual Christmas Eve brunch hosted by two close friends. I also went to Christmas Eve Mass and served as an usher, giving to God what little I had and being grateful that my symptoms disappeared during the worship.

By the time I got home, however, the symptoms were back, the cold was getting worse and I knew there was no way I’d make it to another couple’s house for Christmas Day dinner. A lousy night’s sleep guaranteed it. But at about 4 p.m. the dinner’s host showed up at my door with a plateful of food – pork panchetta, kale with walnuts, butternut squash with brie, and a slice of his wife’s apple pie.

I sacked out at about 6:30 p.m., propped up by pillows and towels because my nose forced me to sleep in a semi-sitting position. I didn’t sleep through the night but after about six hours of continuous sleep I awoke Monday at noon. (Yes, more than 17 hours in bed.)

Six hours later another friend hosted me for dinner, offering lemon-ginger-chicken soup with spinach, which was about the healthiest meal he could think to serve since he, a housemate and I all had recently had or were going through illness.

Tuesday, just two days after Christmas, I’m feeling pretty good – good enough to do my regular soup-kitchen shift, enjoy the company of good friends, and pray for two of our missing teammates, one of whom has unexpected eye problems that forced her to see a doctor today, and another whose mother-in-law was taken to the emergency room. We were short-handed but it worked out anyway.

That’s why I’m writing this letter later in the week. I had to live the story before I could write it. A story about simple Christmas giving and receiving. A story of love shared with God and those close to me. And a story of prayer for those who have so much less than I do. It was a prayer of gratitude in the midst of my meager “suffering” and a prayer that God would give all those in need, including our missing crew members, as much as he gave me this Christmas.

All God’s blessings – Mark