Now and Then

It was cold and windy with the clouds hanging low and a promise of light snow in the forecast. Looking out the window, a feeling of loneliness flooded over me, and I couldn't understand why my heart felt so heavy, like I was carrying the weight of the world. I glanced at the Christmas tree with all the beautiful lights and the presents underneath it and my little dog, Gus, was sleeping contentedly on the couch.

I walked to my desk and shuffled through two or three columns I had started to write and just couldn't finish. I found my phone bill laying there that I'd forgot to pay and my favorite ink pen I'd been looking for the past two days. "Now and Then" by Debbie Gregory. Nothing. "Now and Then" by Debbie Gregory. Still nothing. Blank paper was just staring at me, writer's block I think they call it.

I wanted to write a Christmas story, but I just felt empty inside. Somehow, down through the years, the real meaning of Christmas had gotten lost in all the hustle and bustle. How could I write about something when I couldn't even remember what it was all about.

Walking into the living room, I turned off the TV set and put on my favorite CD of songs with Burl Ives. As the sounds of Christmas filled the room, I grabbed a quilt and stretched out on the couch next to Gus.

"Snow doesn't make Christmas," I remember thinking, before my eyes got heavy and closed.

I must have been around five years old when my granddad passed away. He had on a dark blue suit with a maroon and white tie and wire-rimmed glasses. So when the man with the wistful look in his eyes walked toward me and smiled, I knew exactly who he was.

"Granddad, will you please tell me the story of Christmas?" I asked.

"Well, let me see. The angel. Yep. It all started with the angel.

The Lord sent Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee to a virgin named Mary, who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph.

The angel appeared to her and said, "Congratulations favored lady, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women."

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.

"Don't be frightened, Mary," he told her, "for God has decided to bless you. And thou shall conceive and bring forth a son, and you will name him Jesus. He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord shall give him the throne of his ancestor, David. And he shall reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom shall never end."

But Mary asked the angel, "How can this be, I have never known a man?"

The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of God shall overpower you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy."

And Mary said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; I am willing to do whatever he wants." And the angel disappeared.

The angel also appeared unto Joseph and explained everything to him.

Some months later, Caesar Agustus decreed that all the world should be taxed. Joseph went up from Galilee unto the city of Bethlehem with his espoused wife, Mary who was great with child, to be taxed.

While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. And she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for him in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

"And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'

"Life always makes a way for you to understand things, even if you don't see it at first," I heard my granddad say.

"Thank you," I said, as he turned to walk away. "I love you granddad."

"I love you too and Merry Christmas, Debbie," he softly whispered.

Overwhelmed with joy and love, I whispered back, "Merry Christmas to you too."