Marge had been a member of our church study group
for several years. Now she was terminally ill with cancer. The
rest of our group gathered to go caroling. It was a cold night
with snow in the air. We visited people who were house-bound
and would sing two or three carols at each house.
We all were looking forward to singing to Marge.
She was feeling fairly well that evening and came to the door
to hear us. We sang two or three carols and were about to leave
when, on impulse, I asked if there was any particular carol
she would like to hear.
"There is," she said, "but I suppose it is too much to ask. During
the Second World War, I was a nurse in a prison camp for
German soldiers in Arizona. I remember on Christmas Eve when
they sang 'Silent Night, Holy Night' as one of the most moving
experiences in my life. I would really enjoy hearing that sung
in German again."
My heart sank. There was no way we could do that. Suddenly,
behind me, I heard a voice, "I can do that." Ed, a member
of our group who sang in our church choir, began to sing.
The rest of us began to hum along with him.
I never knew what prompted Marge to ask for that particular
carol. Perhaps she was reviewing her life experiences,
trying to make sense of her life before she died.
None of us knew that Ed had majored in languages and had been
a German language teacher earlier in his life. All
of us knew that, in the God-given serendipity
of that moment, Christmas had arrived!
Serendipity is the aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident...and God specializes in these moments, lots of them. Coincidence has been described as an event in which God chooses to remain anonymous. Do you think that each of us could have a role in providing such a moment for someone else at this season?
Here is another one of those special moments: To show the splendor of the newborn Saviour in the church Christmas pageant, an electric light bulb was hidden in the manger. All the stage lights were to be turned off so only the brightness of the manger could be seen, but the boy who controlled the lights got confused and all the lights went out.
It was a fairly tense moment broken by a little shepherd's loud whisper, "Hey, you! You just turned off Jesus!"
BE PREPARED, LET IT HAPPEN, AND LET'S SHARE THE MOMENT.
LUKE 1:38 "Anna. . .coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem."
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