A Snowflake Christmas

 A Snowflake Christmas

 

Julia turned off the highway at the Whitehall exit.  Her eyes were drawn to the McDonalds on the right and she pulled in.  She was tired and hungry after hours of driving and a large hot coffee with fries and a cheeseburger would do the trick.  She didn’t usually indulge in fast food, but tonight was an exception.  Following her GPS she drove down Colby Street and turned left onto Mears.  She parked at the Inn; grabbed her suitcase and McDonald’s purchase and was soon settled in. 

            She always preferred staying at Inns which were generally warm and cozy compared to the cold generic hotels along highways.  She would have stayed at her Aunt’s, whom she had come to spend Christmas with, but her aunt lived in a senior housing apartment in Montague.  There was little room in those apartments for a guest.  This would work out better; she would spend all the time with Aunt Sarah and just come back to the Inn for the night.

            Julia heard the clock in the downstairs hall chime eight o’clock.  It reminded her that her hosts had said hot chocolate and homemade cookies were available.  So she headed downstairs.  She heard the soft murmuring of voices coming from the dining room and headed in that direction.  There was only one other couple and a lone man and they introduced themselves to each other making small talk about the weather and Christmas; all hoping for snow.  Bill and Joan were from Ohio and were visiting their daughter and her family who had several children and no room for them in their small house.  Brad was an intern from a large hospital in New York and single, as was Julia.

            Bill and Joan soon retired to their room, but Brad and Julia sat in front the fireplace and chatted for a while.  Brad traveled to White Lake for the holidays because as a child this was where he came summers to visit his grandparents at their cottage and had many happy memories here.  Now, there was no family left, but he needed a break from years of study and work to become a doctor, and he thought revisiting this peaceful area would help him relax.

            Julia came here for healing.  Two years ago her ex-husband had decided he wanted to move on in life and it didn’t include her.  She had trusted him completely and with broken trust comes a broken heart.  As a child she could always talk to her Aunt Sarah.  Aunt Sarah had the gift of listening without comment unless asked for one.  She was a strong Godly woman for never swayed from her faith and turned to God for everything.  Just being around her brought peace to Julia; peace she desperately needed at this time.

            Of course their brief meeting wasn’t a “tell all” conversation, but for two people who just met, they both felt very comfortable chatting together.  Soon, they said good night and headed to their rooms.

When Julia crawled into the big comfortable bed, her thoughts turned to Brad.  He seemed like such a nice man and to top it off, he was very good looking.  Then tiredness took over and she was soon fast asleep.

            Brad, on the other hand, lay in bed wide awake thinking about Julia’s stunning smile; long golden hair and the graceful movement of her hands as she talked.  He had met a lot of women, but this one had an effect on him like no other.  He hoped they could spend a little time together the next few days.

            The next morning dawned gray and wet.  Julia rose early and ate breakfast in the dining room and quickly left the Inn to go to her aunt’s apartment.  When she arrived, her Aunt Sarah was delighted to see her.  There were hugs and kisses and then a hot cup of Christmas tea while they visited.  Julia couldn’t help but see how her aunt had failed since she had last seen her. She needed to come here oftener.  Although Sarah was 84 years of age, she always kept her hair nicely done and wore bright clothing like today’s red Christmas sweater and little sparkly fir trees dangling from her ears. She had never lost her quick wit and great sense of humor.  

            They discussed Christmas dinner and made a list for Julia to pick up at the local grocers.  Finally, Julia broke down and talked about her broken marriage and how sad she had been since the time of the divorce.  She felt like her life was going nowhere.  She had a good job as an accountant for a large accounting firm, but it was the kind of job where she could keep to herself.  “I don’t know what to do with my life,” she told her aunt.  “I’m stuck in a rut and so lonely; what should I do?”

            “First of all, I hope you are praying about it, my dear.  God doesn’t want you to be unhappy, Julia.  Are you going to church?”

            “I’ve always went to church, Auntie, but I felt so defeated and worthless and I quit going and then I quit praying.”

            “Julia, sometimes God puts the answers right in front of you, but you have to in tune with Him in order to see it.  You’re young and one of these days you’ll be married again and have a family.”

            Time to change the subject thought Julia, “Well, I am going to go get the groceries for our Christmas dinner and there are a couple of gift shops I want to browse in.  Do you feel up to going along?”

            “No, Julia.  I think I’ll just rest and maybe watch some television.  You run along and take your time.”

            The store was pretty crowded and it took Julia a little longer because she was unfamiliar with the layout.  They had decided on ham for dinner so she was looking them over trying to decide how much ham two people need, when a voice behind her said, “Can’t decide?”  She jumped and turned around coming face to face with Brad.

            “Sorry I startled you,” he apologized.

            “Guess I’m a little jumpy,” Julia answered showing that gorgeous smile.  “What are you doing in the grocery store?”  It really wasn’t any of her business, she thought as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

            “Doesn’t look like anything around here will be open for Christmas dinner and I don’t really want to drive to Muskegon, so I’m picking up a TV dinner and the owners of  the Inn told me to use their Micro as they will be gone that day, besides I’ve got a good book I’d like to finish.”

            “Oh,” Julia’s mind went a little crazy and she almost invited this stranger to join her and her aunt for dinner.  She quickly regained her sanity; picking up a ham and depositing it into her cart.

            “By the way,” Brad asked, “Do you know of a nice church around here?  I really want to attend a Christmas Eve service.” 

            “Well, my Aunt Sarah goes to a lovely church in Montague and she asked me to take her tonight.  It’s at 7:00 o’clock.”

            “Great, I’ll see you there then,” Giving a little nod; he turned and headed down the aisle to the check-out.

            Julia finished her shopping and drove back to her Aunt Sarah’s.  What a shame, the sky had turned darker and everything looked so drab and ugly.  She really hoped there would be snow for Christmas.  It just wasn’t the same without snow. 

            The sky was already turning dark when Julia and her Aunt walked across the parking lot toward the church. From where the church sat on the hill, one could overlook the whole White Lake area and with all the Christmas lights on it was really a beautiful sight.  The only thing lacking was the snow.   The organ was playing traditional Christmas music.  Julia felt a peace come over her that she hadn’t felt in a long time. 

            They were barely seated when someone slid in the pew next to her.  She glanced over and there was Brad.  In one way she was glad he had come to the service but on the other hand his presence made her feel guilty about him spending Christmas alone.  They greeted each other and then she introduced him to her aunt who had a look on her face like she knew a delightful secret; then service began.

            At 8 o’clock sharp the service was over and as they went out the door, Brad offered his arm to Aunt Sarah, who immediately grabbed hold and invited him back to her apartment for eggnog and cookies, to which he immediately accepted.  Julia was shocked at her aunt inviting a stranger like that, but she could only politely smile in agreement. 

            Back at the apartment, Julia began to relax and actually enjoy the company and conversation. 

Finally the conversation got around to religion as it always did with Aunt Sarah.   Bold as brass, she asked Brad if he was a Christian.  He quickly replied that he was saved as a teen and loved Jesus ever since.  In fact this was one of the reasons he pursued a medical career so he could serve God by helping others.

“You know, Brad, I was telling my niece earlier today that God often puts opportunities in front of us and we should be ready to risk taking them.  Sometimes he even puts people together, when they need each other.  I call it “Divine Appointments”.  It may even seem to be magical, although it’s really the Lord.

            Julia knew what her aunt was getting to and felt rather embarrassed.  Brad spoke up as though he understood and said, “I had better be getting back to the Inn.  Thank you ladies for a lovely evening; you have helped me to appreciate coming back here.  God bless you.”

            “Just a minute,” Aunt Sarah spoke up, “Brad, I’d like you to join us for Christmas Dinner.  I know Julia agrees that sharing on Christmas makes it a perfect day.”

            “Are you sure you don’t mind,” Brad asked looking at Julia? 

            “Not at all, the more the merrier,” she said rolling her eyes at her aunt.

            “Good, now that that is settled, Julia, walk Brad to his car. Take your time and look across the bridge and the lake at the beauty of all the lights. I’ll see you both tomorrow; ‘Merry Christmas’ and pray for snow.”

            Julia was dumbfounded at her aunt’s obvious match-making, but grabbed her jacket and they both headed out to the parking lot.  Brad hesitated before getting in his car and asked Julia if she would like to walk down by the bridge like her aunt had suggested.

            “Well, I guess it would be alright; it’s a lovely evening.”

            As they walked along the sidewalk, suddenly Julia felt something wet land on her cheek.  Then another and another; snowflakes!  It seemed the whole sky was filled with big, white, fluffy snowflakes.  Every direction they turned to looked like a magical scene. 

            “Did you know that every snowflake is different; unique,” Brad asked her, “Just like God created each of us uniquely different?  Not every person is alike; some are kind and some are mean spirited.  Some are faithful and some aren’t.  You can’t put all people in the same category. As your aunt said, He also makes divine appointments. I believe He wanted us to meet; two strangers coming all the way from New York and Ohio to be at White Lake at the same time and the same place.”

            “We both wanted it to snow so much, and here it is coming down all around us,” Julia turned to face him.  “Do you think God sent the snow as a sign for us tonight,” Julia asked Brad?

            “Absolutely!” he answered.

            He put his arm through hers and they just kept walking along in silence of the newly falling snowflakes.