A Special Christmas Gift
Sometimes the word merry can be hard to find.35 total reviews
Comment from barbara.wilkey
Thank you for sharing this Christmas contest entry with us. I enjoyed reading and I am positive this post will be able to help others who have found Christmas a difficult time of year. Good luck with the contest.
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2023
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Thank you for sharing this Christmas contest entry with us. I enjoyed reading and I am positive this post will be able to help others who have found Christmas a difficult time of year. Good luck with the contest.
Comment Written 26-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2023
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You discovered one of the key reasons for putting this personal piece in the public venue. Thank you for your review. -Bill Stephenson
Comment from Liz O'Neill
Many will identify with this loss: "Christmas went from being the highest to the lowest time of the year" This exemplifies a great change of heart. You are a power of example. This is a poignant account. Thank you.
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2023
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Many will identify with this loss: "Christmas went from being the highest to the lowest time of the year" This exemplifies a great change of heart. You are a power of example. This is a poignant account. Thank you.
Comment Written 26-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2023
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Liz, your comments from reviewing my story reveal your careful reading. This piece had several motives to it and you caught hold of the big one in the quotation you shared. It has brought a flood of responses. Thanks. -Bill Stephenson
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very cool
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Thank you, Liz. I have spent an entire career as a psychotherapist instilling hope, restoring hope, believing in hope. I have been so fortunate to have witnessed, not just their deaths, but seeing them find hope again.
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Very nice
Comment from davisr (Rhonda)
Wow, William, this is an incredible and honest Christmas story. I know the whole ordeal had to have been beyond comprehension! The father you loved torn away from you, but rather than letting it destroy you, you chose to let it remake you.
Thank you for sharing,
Rhonda
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2023
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Wow, William, this is an incredible and honest Christmas story. I know the whole ordeal had to have been beyond comprehension! The father you loved torn away from you, but rather than letting it destroy you, you chose to let it remake you.
Thank you for sharing,
Rhonda
Comment Written 25-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2023
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Thank you, Rhonda. You and a few others were able to articulate this message and you are spot on.
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I?m so glad I got the point! Also, you expressed it well. I sure he?s proud of the man you?ve become.
Comment from Wendy G
A beautiful and well written story, and a very moving one. My own father died on Christmas Eve a few years ago, and this Christmas morning, one of my dear friends lost her father. I am very pleased you were able to turn your grief into a work and ministry of compassion for others. Best wishes for the contest.
Wendy
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2023
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A beautiful and well written story, and a very moving one. My own father died on Christmas Eve a few years ago, and this Christmas morning, one of my dear friends lost her father. I am very pleased you were able to turn your grief into a work and ministry of compassion for others. Best wishes for the contest.
Wendy
Comment Written 25-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2023
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Thank you for your review. It's amazing how this story has affected so many who read it. They want to talk about loss at
Christmas and glad that someone put it on the Christmas table. Now, if I could get three more reviews today it will reach the magical 25.
Merry Christmas, Wendy. - Bill Stephenson
Comment from estory
You have painted a very poignant scene here of digging your father's marker out of the snow and coming to terms such as you can, to his passing on. The healing process can take a long time, and you never really can fill that hole in your life completely. Taking care of a father in his infirmity can also be hard. I did that with my sister when my dad had a stroke. I will be posting The Caregiver, the story I wrote out of that experience, probably next year. One thing I noticed is that deaths so often occur around the holidays. My mom died right before Thanksgiving. My dad died right before Father's Day. Deaths around the holidays are particularly hard to deal with. estory
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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You have painted a very poignant scene here of digging your father's marker out of the snow and coming to terms such as you can, to his passing on. The healing process can take a long time, and you never really can fill that hole in your life completely. Taking care of a father in his infirmity can also be hard. I did that with my sister when my dad had a stroke. I will be posting The Caregiver, the story I wrote out of that experience, probably next year. One thing I noticed is that deaths so often occur around the holidays. My mom died right before Thanksgiving. My dad died right before Father's Day. Deaths around the holidays are particularly hard to deal with. estory
Comment Written 24-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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Not just death, but new life often comes around the holidays. That was part of the message this story offers. "I set before you life or death. Choose." Yes, we have a choice and that journey into that cemetery gave me the opportunity to choose and I came out of that cemetery with a new understanding of life. Thanks for the review and Merry Christmas. -Bill Stephensn
Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill
This was just lovely. What a great gift he gave you, And now you give others. Another tradition. I wish new Christmas memories for you and yours. Karen
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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This was just lovely. What a great gift he gave you, And now you give others. Another tradition. I wish new Christmas memories for you and yours. Karen
Comment Written 24-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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And I have many. The many cards I get and give from families I was privileged to serve. Thanks for your review. Merry Christmas-Bill Stephenson
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Happy Holidays Karen :-)
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Merry Christmas. Please add to the new book for Kathy, Bill Schott's wife. Karen
Comment from Jim Wile
That was really a beautiful and well written story, William. How you ever found your father's grave under that blanket of snow seems like the stuff of miracles.
It sounds like you had a wonderful relationship with your father, and it's impressive that your experience that Christmas led you to an inspiring career helping others face what you and your family faced. May that wonderful spirit always remain with you. - Jim
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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That was really a beautiful and well written story, William. How you ever found your father's grave under that blanket of snow seems like the stuff of miracles.
It sounds like you had a wonderful relationship with your father, and it's impressive that your experience that Christmas led you to an inspiring career helping others face what you and your family faced. May that wonderful spirit always remain with you. - Jim
Comment Written 24-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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Thank you, Jim, for your review. Christmas Eve Day has always been a special day for me as I remember and tell that story now to my grandchildren. Merry Christmas-Bill Stephenson
Comment from zanya
Wow- what a slice of personal life, told with candor and compassion - the reader has a sense of being present as the events unfold - thank you for sharing this deeply personal memory - Wishing you all the joy and blessings of the season. Has my vote.
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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Wow- what a slice of personal life, told with candor and compassion - the reader has a sense of being present as the events unfold - thank you for sharing this deeply personal memory - Wishing you all the joy and blessings of the season. Has my vote.
Comment Written 24-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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And thank you for your special Christmas gift. It's a memory that I hope others can know. That even in death can come life. Again, thank you. Merry Christmas-Bill Stephenson
Comment from Ginda Simpson
Wow, what a wonderful gift you were given by your father. And he, no doubt, looks down from above with such pride to see you in your practice of helping those who must walk the lonely, fear-filled path of a terminal illness. A beautiful Christmas story. God bless you with His peace and love.
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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Wow, what a wonderful gift you were given by your father. And he, no doubt, looks down from above with such pride to see you in your practice of helping those who must walk the lonely, fear-filled path of a terminal illness. A beautiful Christmas story. God bless you with His peace and love.
Comment Written 24-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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Even in the diagnosis we have a choice. My father refused to be defined by his. He chose life again and again. And he instilled that in all of his sons: "Whatever life throws, throw yourself into life." That was key to our work with those given such a diagnosis. And therein lies their hope. Thanks, Ginda, for your review. Merry Christmas - Bill Stephenson
Comment from nomi338
The Bible says that everyone who ever lived are still alive in God's memory and in the Bible book of Job, chapter 14, verse 1,5, Job states: "You will call and I will answer, you will long for the work of your hands. What this means to me is the reassurance that there will be a resurrection. God will long to see Moses, Abel, Noah and others once again, not just as they exist in his memory, but to see them walk about on the earth again, fully restored to a life that will never end.
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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The Bible says that everyone who ever lived are still alive in God's memory and in the Bible book of Job, chapter 14, verse 1,5, Job states: "You will call and I will answer, you will long for the work of your hands. What this means to me is the reassurance that there will be a resurrection. God will long to see Moses, Abel, Noah and others once again, not just as they exist in his memory, but to see them walk about on the earth again, fully restored to a life that will never end.
Comment Written 23-Dec-2023
reply by the author on 24-Dec-2023
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Thank you for your reply. As a Christian I can share with you the power of the resurrection. But as a therapist I must respect the importance of grief and loss. Grieving is an essential component to healing. Merry Christmas - Bill Stephenson
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By all means one should not forgo grieving. Even Jesus who already knew that he was going to bring his friend Lazarus back to life, grieved over his death.
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I think we could have a wonderful conversation. -Bill Stephenson
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Anytime. I am open to discussion.
