It has been 49 years, but I remember it like it was yesterday. History books would subsequently refer to it as the Operation Linebacker II aerial bombing campaign over Vietnam or simply the Christmas bombing raids of 1972. It was during the Christmas bombing raids that my twin brother’s plane went down over North Vietnam,
He was and continues to be listed as Missing in Action. I will leave it to your imagination regarding what those early subsequent Christmas experiences were like for us. For years we expected him to be home for Christmas.
Our faith and trust in God provided the lifeline of hope that we needed to face the uncertainty regarding his fate.
In a self-protective way, I purposefully chose to distance myself from many of the traditions associated with Christmas. To this day, I do an about-face if I walk into a department store in October and they are putting up a display of Christmas trees. Forty-nine years later, it works best for me if I emotionally ease into Christmas.
On December 3, 2010, I was driving home from Houston late in the evening. When I turned on the radio, I was bombarded by the sound of Christmas music filling my car. Seriously, it seemed too early to listen to Christmas music. Intuitively and protectively, I quickly hit the seek button to advance to another station. I was greeted with more Christmas music. Again I hit the seek button and found another station playing a Christmas song. Protectively, I chose to turn the radio off. I just wasn’t prepared to think about Christmas.
I was content to drive in silence, lost in thought. Do you ever do that? Lost in thought is not a bad neighborhood in which to drive. Of course, it could be a dangerous way to drive. It probably falls under the category of distracted driving.
At some point in the dark of night on my journey homeward, out of nowhere, the tune and the lyrics to “I’ll be home for Christmas” and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" began to roll around inside my head.
The songs capture holiday traditions that include celebrations with both family and friends. The songs resonate with the sense of holiday cheer.
If the Christmas season finds you in a place of not having a care in the world, it is easy to identify with the lyrics of these songs.
When the sound of “I’ll be Home for Christmas started rolling around in my head, for some unexplainable reason, I delighted in the sound. The song doesn't have a religious connotation, but I was very content to let the song roll around in my head.
The experience was uncharacteristically very comfortable for me. It was similar to sharing a cup of hot flavored coffee with a treasured friend or sitting in a comfortable chair reading a great book. It felt like home. It was warm and comforting.
The next day, December 4, 2010, in the early afternoon, I received a call from my brother in Oklahoma telling me that the doctor said that time was near. Our mother had been placed in an Alzheimer's unit three years earlier. She was now not expected to live through the day. We immediately, left work and headed to the airport
That evening as I stood by Mother’s bedside attempting to process everything I was seeing and what I’d just been told about her condition, a thousand thoughts filled my head. Interestingly, those thoughts were replaced with the duplication of my experience from the day before. The tune and lyrics to “I’ll be home for Christmas,” filled my head and assured me that everything was ultimately going to be all right. Amid the sadness, it almost put a smile on my face.
Because of God’s gift of Christmas, the promises of Christ ring true:
John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
All My Best!
Don