Feast Day of St. Nicholas

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas. I love talking about who St. Nick really is because he is a virtuous holy man, much better than the modern fairy tale of Santa Claus. St. Nicholas (a bishop) became known for his piety when he secretly and anonymously threw a bag of coins into a family's house when their daughter was going to have to be sold into prostitution. The coins were able to pay her dowry and she was able to be married. St. Nicholas did this three times before the father caught him in the act the third time. I always liked the story but must say I didn't really GET IT until yesterday.

This year, we have a non-existent Christmas fund for presents. Embarrassingly, this has been really hard for me. I am aware of the sacrifices we are making right now, and am glad to make them, but I still couldn't get over this sadness I felt at not being able to buy things for the ones I love, especially my children. I looked into making things, but that costs money as well and all we have around the house is construction paper! Not to throw a pity party, but I was really sad. At peace with how things are, yes, but still sad. Yesterday, I woke up from our nap crying about it. Embarrassed at how materialistic I was being, I didn't tell anyone (except Jason) about it, and it was something we were praying through together. Its a question every Christian has to ask themselves, "Can Christmas really be Christmas without any presents?"

Last night at 7pm, there was a loud knock on our door. It scared me and I waited for Jason to get out of the back room to answer the door. When he did, he stood there for a minute and then said "Katie, you have to come see this!." I walked over and couldn't believe my eyes. There on our doorstep was BIG BAG of presents waiting for us. We kinda stared for a minute and then laughed. We brought the bag inside and began going through it. Unbelievably, the presents were PERFECT for our family. The toys for the kids were EXACTLY the toys that I wanted to buy for them this Christmas. We got Christmas food, candy, clothes for Henry, toys for both the kids, winter apparel for me, car stuff for Jason, family games and lots of stocking stuffers that we really needed like band aids (with fun designs on them), hair clips and even coffee! I was in tears. There was a card that read "Happy Feast Day of St. Nicholas! Glory be to God!"I still get emotional talking about what happened. We have no clue who did this for us, or how we got chosen for this gift.

It was then that I got really emotional about St. Nicholas and what he did. I felt like I really got it. He gave to those in need with a true spirit of Charity. He didn't desire recognition or appreciation; his gift was truly a gift. Whoever gave us this gift gave us way more than just presents. They gave us hope and a great happiness about being able to present our children with beautiful gifts this Christmas morning. This is WAY better than any modern Santa Claus where it is all about us: what do I want and did I get it (I am guilty of this as well). This act captured the true essence of St. Nick. Spying a family in need of a little extra love, and doing something sweet for them with complete anonymity. Not to mention the joy it brought to my heart as a mother, who had been weeping hours earlier. I am so amazed, humbled and thankful for how God matched up our family with this gift. What a blessing.

When we have money again, we are definitely going to adopt this tradition. I can't wait to pick a family, study them to see what they like, go shopping for them and then leave the presents on their doorstep, ring the bell and run. I doubt we will ever know who did this, but I can't wait to give the gift to someone else. We, as the recipiants, couldn't be more thankful. Or feel more loved.