CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

By Charles Moncrief

In 1963 Edward Pola and George Wyle wrote the popular Christmas song “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". In that year pop singer Andy Williams recorded the song on his first Christmas album. Many of us, if we remember Andy Williams, associate the song and the man as inseparable.

Associations are powerful for us. One of the doctors in the TV series “MASH” was operating on a fatally wounded soldier on Christmas day. When he realized he couldn’t save the patient, he desperately tried to keep the soldier alive until after midnight because he didn’t want the man’s children to remember Christmas as “the day Daddy died”.

A beautiful woman in the Dallas area may forever associate Christmas with a horrible accident. 23-year-old model and fashion editor Lauren Scruggs walked into an airplane propeller following a flight with a friend one night. She had gone up to see Christmas lights from a special perspective, and it was costly. We don’t know much about the details of the accident, though we know her injuries are horrible. The combination of darkness and a propeller spinning at approximately 1,000 rpm caused the accident that a pilot of light aircraft fear most. The injuries took her hand and lacerated her face.

A prosthetic hand can be fitted and functional. Injured muscles can be retrained. Even a damaged brain can be taught to adapt to changing synapse patterns. But it is my prayer that Lauren will receive the love and support, the nurture and counseling, so that this accident is not the dominant association for Christmas in her life. Hopefully, Lauren’s support base will enable her to tap into the depths of her courage so she can rebuild positive associations.

What are your Christmas memories? Are they good, not so good, or horrible? Many of us have a combination of all these.


This is my toast to you for Christmas and the coming year: 

That you will experience a special gift of God’s presence in your life. 

That your descending relationships will take a turn for the better. 

That your good relationships will ascend to new heights. 

That the coming year may be for you an occasion of unbounded blessings. 

Grace and Peace,

Charles+

Anglican Priest, Charles Moncrief, serves up the issues of the day on a platter mixed with scripture, seriousness, and a sense of humor to create a ministry founded in love for his fellow man.

“I’m an Anglican Priest, disguised as a geek during the week. It’s REALLY tough to change my costume, since phone booths are getting hard to find!”