Christmas Journeys by Carol James

Christmas was always a special time growing up. Yet, I can remember only one spent with aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. My father was a career military officer, so we lived away from family.

But our home was never empty. It was filled with friends and airmen who also had no family nearby. Dad made certain no one under his command had to spend Christmas alone, and Mom made the holidays fun and festive for whoever filled our house.

Early in our marriage, when my husband was transferred from Texas to Georgia, my mother had one request. To spend Christmases together. So, every year, we filled the car with daughters and presents and made the eighteen-hour drive home for the holidays.

One December, as we began our journey, the worst arctic cold snap on record at that time hit north Texas. We’d gotten a late start on the trip, so we planned to stay one night in a hotel along the way. But the farther we travelled, the more we realized that was impossible.

Hotels and restaurants had no power or water. Gas stations had fuel but no electricity to run the pumps. With no place to stop and realizing if we cut the car off, we might not be able to restart it, our only choice was to keep going.

Even though the heater was blowing full-force, it couldn’t overcome the cold. Ice frosted the inside of our car windows, so I tucked coats, blankets, stuffed animals, anything I could find around our preschool daughters to keep them warm.

And as my husband drove on, I prayed. Prayed we’d have enough fuel. Prayed the little car would keep running. Prayed our girls would stay warm. Prayed neither would need to stop for a potty break. Prayed for peace for my parents.

And, as I prayed, I remembered the journey of the first Christmas. Knowing the King of kings was about to be born, was Joseph worried when none of the inns had rooms and they had to spend the night in a stable, away from comfort and family? Or did he trust?

In the midst of the frigid December cold, peace blanketed me. The One Who had directed their journey was also directing ours.

I don’t remember the gifts exchanged that Christmas, the food we ate, the guests who shared our house. But I’ll always remember the joy glimmering in my parents’ eyes as they answered our knock. And God’s protection for our journey.

 

Raised as an Air Force brat, the longest Carol James ever lived in one place was a year and a half. Maybe that’s why when she and her husband bought their first home over forty years ago, they stayed put.

The author of five full-length novels and five Christmas novellas, Carol loves creating stories of Redemptive Romance—intriguing, transformative tales with happy endings.

Visit her website to sign up for her newsletter and receive a free short story: https://www.carol-james.com


Choosing Christmas Heartbroken over the unfair loss of a position in the

school where she teaches, Angela Taylor is determined to find an AP position.

Adam Thornton has struggled for years to overcome the physical and emotional effects of a devastating accident that occurred when he was a teenager. A successful real estate attorney and part-time handyman, Adam uses his gifts and talents to serve others.

When Angela is hired as an AP at the school where Adam' s mother is the principal, Angela and Adam find they share a past... an unexpected connection. And they must choose whether to surrender to the pain of that past or find hope for the future in the spirit of Christmas.

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