Happy Saturday before Christmas, dear Seekerville!
I hope you're enjoying our Coming Home For Christmas advent posts this month. I've loved the memories, the recipes, the photos, the traditions, and just seeing a bit more into the hearts of such cherished friends.
Grab a mug of hot chocolate or a Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks (the only thing I get there since I don't like coffee or tea... i know, i know) and settle in for a harrowing tale of Christmas past.
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| My brother & I, probably Christmas 1984 (no idea what i'm doing lol) |
We intended to drive to a hotel in Indiana for the night and tackle the rest of the 14 hour trip the next day. However, when my dad opened the hotel room door the next morning, instead of gazing out on the parking lot where we'd innocently left our car the night before, he was met with a wall of snow. Car? What car? No idea where it is. No idea where the parking lot is. Everything was buried in snow upon snow upon snow. Interstates were closed north and south. No snow plows were coming through. There would be no rescue.
What was only meant to be an overnight hotel stay became several days long. Wind chill was 100 below zero. Yes, you read that right. In fact, that Christmas has the auspicious title of coldest Christmas in North America - a title it still holds to this day. Of course we ran out of food fairly quickly. My dad would battle the treacherous elements to walk across the road and grab burgers from the truck stop, wrap them in motel room towels and my book bag (because of course I had one, even at age six lol), zip them up in his coat, and cross the road again ... only for them to already be stone cold.
My 18-month-old brother was on meds for an ear infection and spiked a fever of 103 at some point during our stay. I read all my books. So what else is there to do? Well you act out the Christmas story from Luke 2, of course. Over and over and over again. I was in my element (always a bit of the dramatic in me, i'm sure this is shocking to all of you LOL) but needless to say my baby brother did NOT want to be swaddled over and over and over again. And my mom was trying to keep his fever down so swaddling him wasn't really the best choice. But he was the only baby Jesus we had, so I swaddled. My poor parents.
As I think back now on this particular Christmas, with the eyes and the cognition of an adult, I realize how scary it must have been for my mom and dad. In their early 30s with two small children, no certain supply of food, no way for an ambulance to reach us if my brother had gotten sicker, separated from deathly frigid temperatures only by a thin-walled motel room and its please-keep-working heater unit. No way to really celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense that children consider Christmas - all our presents were in Tennessee. Running out of money (a several day hotel stay was not in the budget). I know they trusted God, that is one of the greatest legacies they've given me. But in their humanity, how could they not have been even just a little bit afraid?
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| One of my favorite Nativity sets |
Into all of the uncertainty that accompanied that pivotal night in history, into all of the uncertainty that accompanied that long ago Christmas for my own family, into all of the uncertainty that may accompany you this Christmas, the angel's message to the shepherds still resonates...
“Don’t be afraid!” he said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
And you will recognize him by this sign:
You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
And you will recognize him by this sign:
You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
God. Come to earth. Meeting us where we are. It's easy to gloss over it in the familiarity of the story. And sometimes it takes an unexpected change of plans to remind us of its profound impact. Emmanuel. God with us. God with you.
One of my favorite Christmas songs from recent years is "Christmas Changes Everything" by Josh Wilson. These lyrics (below) in particular hit my soul every time.
Hallelujah, love has found us
Hope in a manger our Savior is setting us free
This is rescue, Christ has come to make us new
Oh, Christmas changes everything
This is rescue, Christ has come to make us new
Oh, Christmas changes everything
The snow changed all of our plans that Christmas of 1983. We ran out of money & days off work for my dad and had to go back home as soon as the roads were clear (and we could find our car). But all of that was so minor. Many people lost their lives from the extreme cold and snow that Christmas, but we had shelter, safety, warmth and each other.
What really mattered had already been eternally altered when the birth of a Baby defeated death forever.
Do you need rescue this Christmas? In your heart, in your family, in your health or your bank account? You may feel stranded even in a room full of people who love you. May I leave you with the tender reminder today of that Hope in a manger, of our Savior who is setting us free?
This is rescue. Christ has come to make us new.
And, my Seekerville friends, that changes everything!
What really mattered had already been eternally altered when the birth of a Baby defeated death forever.
Do you need rescue this Christmas? In your heart, in your family, in your health or your bank account? You may feel stranded even in a room full of people who love you. May I leave you with the tender reminder today of that Hope in a manger, of our Savior who is setting us free?
This is rescue. Christ has come to make us new.
And, my Seekerville friends, that changes everything!
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Today, I'm giving away one of my favorite Christmas re-reads. AND it includes an adorable scene with kids reenacting the Christmas story that will leave you laughing and teary-eyed. For a chance to win An Endless Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti tell me about any memorable Christmas trips you've taken. (Or anything else you'd like to share - I just like chatting!)
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Carrie Schmidt is an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot. Co-founder of the Christian Fiction Readers' Retreat and JustRead Publicity Tours, Carrie lives in Kentucky with her husband Eric.
She can be found lurking at various blogs and websites (because she can't stop talking about books) but her main home is the blog she started in 2015 - ReadingIsMySuperPower.org.
Carrie Schmidt is an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot. Co-founder of the Christian Fiction Readers' Retreat and JustRead Publicity Tours, Carrie lives in Kentucky with her husband Eric.
She can be found lurking at various blogs and websites (because she can't stop talking about books) but her main home is the blog she started in 2015 - ReadingIsMySuperPower.org.
And don't forget to enter the advent Seekerville giveaway for a Kindle fire!
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ReplyDeleteCarrie, what a memory. The kind of thing we look back on and laugh. Maybe. Kudos to your parents for sticking it out and not giving in to fear. And love your connection to the Greatest Story Ever Told.
ReplyDeleteMuch to do but wanted to check in,
Kaybee
thanks for stopping by, dear kaybee! I hope you have a very merry Christmas :)
DeleteCARRIE thank you for sharing your insight. I loved reading this. May you have a blessed and Merry Christmas 🎁🎄
ReplyDeletethank you, Lucy! I hope you have the same :)
DeleteHappy Christmas to you, Carrie and to all who've stopped by-- or will stop by!!!-- this snowy WNY Saturday!
ReplyDeleteI love this story. This is book-worthy. So beautifully done and yes, of course they'd be scared and disappointed and oh, so many things. But what a beautiful analogy.
I am so blessed to know you, brat!!!!
I'm so jealous of your snow, Ruthy! And I'm the blessed one to know YOU & be called a brat by you hahaha! Love ya!
DeleteCarrie, I loved reading your memory...and how you drew so many great life lessons from it, and then compared it to that first Christmas!! Have a wonderful Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI’d be delighted to win the giveaway!
oh thank you, Rosalyn! I hadn't intended all of that when I started writing but it all just came together as I thought about it <3
DeleteWow! What a story! It made me try and remember where were living that year, because around that time we were had just moved out of Illinois and were in Mississippi, which is probably why I don't remember that storm. Thank you for sharing not just the story, but the reminder that Christmas is all about rescue. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou just escaped it with the move south! lol And yes, I love that song so much - This is rescue! Amen & amen!
DeleteOh, Carrie, what a beautiful post! I'm feel sure I remember that year, because I remember once when the snow piled halfway up over the doors and windows of our house in Kentucky! It was crazy.
ReplyDeleteI love how you did the Christmas story reenactment over and over. hahaha Yes, your poor parents. How scary! And bless your dad for making that trek to get food for all of you.
It really was crazy & it especially would have been that far south in Kentucky!! No wonder you remember it! And my parents are pretty much the best :)
DeleteWhat an incredible story! You will never forget that. My most memorable Christmas was not a trip but in our own home, My grandfather had just had brain surgery for cancer a week or so before Christmas and had chosen to have surgery a specialty hospital that was much closer to our home than theirs. He got to come home for a couple of days with us and it was special for two reasons: we were home for Christmas (we always went to their house) and my grandfather was still with us. I couldn’t tell you what gifts I had that year, but I had my Papaw at my house.
ReplyDeleteperrianne (DOT) askew (AT) me (DOT) com
Perrianne Askew
having Papaw at your house is greater than any other gifts you could have received that year :) Thank you for sharing that, Perrianne! What a precious memory!
DeleteI remember that storm so well, Carrie! We were living in Kalamazoo then, and we were expecting our first baby. My parents had driven from Kansas - where they were living then - to my brother and sister-in-law's house in north-central Indiana, and had planned to be at our place for Christmas. But, you guessed it, hubby and I spent Christmas alone in our apartment while the rest of the family stayed in Indiana. For days! But since we were hosting the get-together, we had plenty of food. I'm not sure what the Indiana folks did.
ReplyDeleteA long-standing tradition came out of that experience, though. Every New Year's Eve since then (yes, we moved it a week) we recreate that special Christmas Eve, snowed in for a week or more and enjoying our solitude. :-)
Thanks for the special memories!
(By the way, my best friend's baby was born during that storm - the volunteer fire department took her to the hospital on a snowmobile!)
oh wow, Jan!!!!! Baby by snowmobile - incredible!
DeleteCarrie this was in TENNESSEE??? Oh wow.
ReplyDeleteI remember the winter of 1983-84. I had a baby who was four days old on Thanksgiving. That makes me your PARENTS AGE!!!
Humble reminder of my OLDNESS.
But that winter. Not just a storm but the entire winter was brutal in Nebraska. We missed Thanksgiving altogether. It was a decent but bitterly cold day and my family was having Thanksgiving at my sister's house about 90 minute drive away. And My Cowboy absolutely refused to go based on the weather. He could NOT get snowed away from his cows and the forecast looked awful and it was COLD, not a decent day for a long drive with three small children, including a FOUR DAY OLD.
But I wanted to go so BAD.
I wanted to show off my baby. Usually I am fine with just hibernating with a baby, but I was almost desperate to show off my baby. And my sister had a one month old and I hadn't met her yet...she lived in Rochester Minnesota at the time and she was bringing her baby home for the first time.
Well, we did NOT go and the snow started falling and my whole family was trapped for about three days in that house. And it was a good thing we didn't go. What was I even thinking to take a four day old baby out?
That year we missed Thanksgiving.
We missed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, both snowed out.
We rescheduled for New Years Day and missed that. All due to weather.
I at one point almost ran out of food. And I don't mean in a dramatic WE'RE ALL GONNA STARVE! Way. We had meat in the freezer and canned vegetables. But I did NOT go to the grocery store. Instead of figuring out a meal and going shopping, I'd open the cupboards and just decide what could be made with what I had.
My cupboards were almost bare!
I had THREE children under five years old, including an infant. And a middle child, 2.5 years old with chronic ear infections...she got tubes in February.
And I used to think...if I got stuck or my car broke down...my children would die. It was so bitter cold there'd be no walking with three little ones.
Literally die.
I just stayed home.
ALL WINTER.
My cupboards have never been so clean and spacious since.
And my 4 day old baby is now about 35 and has two little ones of her own, so we all made it through.
oh my goodness, Mary!! Yep, just treacherously cold. So many people died along the interstate that Christmas because they hadn't stopped, got stuck, and either froze to death in the car or trying to go get help. Isn't that horrible?? I can't imagine... (And we were stuck in Indiana - trying to get to Tennessee but we ended up just going back home to Illinois once the roads opened back up again)
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ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I don't remember the Christmas of 83. Dec 8, 1995 my oldest brother died in a snowmobile accident during a snow storm. My husband and I lived in PA at the time so we flew home on the 9th to be with my family. The funeral was on Dec 13 and Dec 15 we flew back to PA. Our first baby arrived Dec 18. So glad she wasn't born on the plane or in an airport along the way.
ReplyDeleteArletta, I'm so sorry for that tragic Christmas. But very glad the baby waited until you got home.
Deleteaww Arletta, I'm sure that was a very tough season! Grieving the loss of your brother gone too young, welcoming your first baby, Christmas... lots of mixed emotions I'm sure.
DeleteCarrie, what a Christmas memory! I’m sure your parents were worried, but treasured your re-enactment of the First Christmas.
ReplyDeleteOur Christmas of 1996 was memorable. So our sons could experience long distance train travel, we booked a ride on Amtrak between Wyoming and Seattle to visit their grandparents. On the trip out, we were delayed by snow storms and the dining car was inoperable. (The train did stopped to pick up meals along the way.) We did arrive in time to spend Christmas Eve with family. Then on the return trip, we were caught between two avalanches in the Columbia River Gorge.....the railroad eventually had us fly home. More excitement than we’d plan, but definitely unforgettable!
Merry Christmas, Seekerville!
Sherida that's absolutely crazy! I bet y'all couldn't believe that all happened! haha
Deletewow!! that's insane, Sherida!!
DeleteHi Carrie, I vividly remember Christmas 1983. We were dairy farmers in Kentucky and those days were extremely hard. My husband put out extra hay in the free stalls to offer them some protection but the wind chill temps left some our cows with frozen udders. Trying to keep our milkers working was another issue and keeping ourselves warm was another. One day the wind chill was -60! Sadly, I don't recall much about our Christmas celebration.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Carrie!
you were probably just trying to stay alive & keep your cows alive! wow!
DeleteA favorite memory in 2012 when our youngest had just turned one.... the wonder of the Christmas tree and presents under the tree will stay with me for a long time.
ReplyDeleteawww i bet! what a sweet memory!
DeleteWhat a crazy story!
ReplyDeleteI have a storm story too, but just not as adventurous. LOL
I've never been caught in a snowstorm over Christmas, but I do remember the ice storm of 2013 just before Christmas. My husband had been an avid camper before we got married so we had all kinds of camping equipment available to us with plenty of fuel to cook outside (and a generator to run the heat if we needed it). Our twins were toddlers and I dressed them in several layers to stay warm in the house until power was restored. I remember the morning of the 23rd standing on our front porch making coffee over the camping burner and waving to our neighbour across the road cooking bacon and eggs on her BBQ. Fortunately for us, power was restored before the big Christmas festivities began (but many families spent the holiday in warming centres close to our city).
Merry Christmas Carrie!
hahaha oh no!
DeleteWhat a memorable Christmas story, Carrie! It makes me thankful for our more predictable weather methods now. Even though our children all live within a couple of hundred miles of us, they all check their phones and computers for the weather outlook to find those pockets of good weather. We have a canyon they usually come through to get to our house, so if it's bad weather, they know to go around the slightly longer way that's a bit safer.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to all of you!
yes! being able to check the weather while you're on the road - to get the most up-to-date info is so nice.
DeleteEvery year my family travels 10 hours to visit the other members of my family. Several years ago we got about 2 hours from their home when we ran into snow and ice. We had to slow to a crawl down the highway. We only went a few more miles when we were stopped and told the highway had been closed. My kids were crying, saying "we're not going to get to Meme's house!" We had to find a hotel, that still had a vacancy, spend the night and try to go the rest of the way the next day. We woke up the next morning with 6 fresh inches of beautiful, white snow. That did help with traction but what should have taken 1 1/4 hours took us 7 more hours. But after taking several detours and helping someone get out of a ditch, we were happy to see family.
ReplyDeleteoh wow!!!
DeleteCarrie, such a beautiful Christmas reflection. I'm sure your parents were frightened. I would have been. Thank goodness you survived the blizzard! So true about Mary and Joseph and their anxiety about finding lodging with a baby on the way.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite little prayer: Jesus, I trust in you! Sometimes easier said than done!
Merry Christmas!