Alone at Christmas

By Vivian Patterson

I'd been trying not to think about Christmas, dreading the day, hoping against hope that some angel would come into my life and make everything okay. I even tried pretending that it was just a normal day, nothing special, in hopes that would make the loneliness go away. But I couldn't avoid it.--Christmas was all around me, and I was alone. No one to talk to, no one to laugh with, and no one to wish me a happy Christmas. With each minute that passed I was getting more depressed--and that's what I had dreaded the most.

To cheer myself up, I searched for happy memories to occupy my mind. One that popped up was about my Sunday school teacher. He was an easygoing, friendly man who'd spent a lot of time with us kids, and had a knack for making things fun and happy. He had said that Jesus was the joy of his life. His words ran through my mind, "Just take Jesus with you."

Would that work? I thought about it. I was alone--no one would know the difference. So I decided then and there to make Jesus my Friend for the day.

We did everything together--drank hot chocolate by the fire, walked the streets together, talked about how pretty the world was, laughed, and waved at passers-by. I could almost feel His arm around me everywhere I went and hear His voice talking to me. In whispers beyond the realm of audible sound He told me He loved me--just me--and that He would always be My Friend. Somehow I knew I would never be alone again.

As I lay down to sleep that Christmas night I felt so happy, so peaceful, so content. It seemed odd, but then again it didn't. I'd spent the day with Jesus, and I just hoped that others had as happy a Christmas Day as I had.