When Christmas Doesn't Come

Christmas morning is here. You feel it in your bones, and have been tossing and turning all night with excitement. Finally… it is here. You see, this is a very special Christmas morning. You have only had one Christmas morning before this one, and it was the most incredible thing you have ever experienced in your life. You carry it with you everywhere you go. Since that Christmas, you have been longing for another… but waiting ever so patiently. But this year it’s coming! You know because you received a little note, wrapped in blue and pink ribbons promising that this year, Christmas would come. You cherished that note, hugged it and sang praises and danced. What an amazing little note it was. And so the dreaming, wishing, and anticipation began. You have been lying in bed at night, dreaming of what it will look like Christmas morning when you tiptoe downstairs. What color will the lights and wrapping paper be? What will be waiting under the tree? You have been preparing for the day as well… baking cookies and decorating the house. And now it’s here!!!!!

You tip toe downstairs, just as you imagined. Your heart is racing and feels as if it will leap out of your chest at any moment. Then, you turn the corner to only discover something you didn’t know was possible…the note lied… Christmas didn’t come. There are no lights, no gifts, and the cookies you baked still sit under the tree… untouched. Your heart drops to the bottom of your soul. Slowly you pack away all your Christmas decorations, along with the wishes and dreams you had just the night before, and tape the boxes shut… not knowing if and when you will open them again.

Outside you hear the shouts and cries of your friends as they sing and dance… for Christmas arrived at their house. You watch them play with their new gifts, show them to each other, and discuss all the ways their Christmas day is alike and different. You don’t want to look, so you go back upstairs to throw your note away… the one that promised Christmas was coming.

And so you go one waiting. You cherish that one Christmas you had… feeling blessed to have had it, but longing to experience another. You wait for another note… even knowing that notes can lie. You continue to watch friends celebrate and play with their gifts, happy for their joy but wondering what it would have been like if Christmas had come like the note said. You still have your box packed away… decorations and cards and lights. It waits… you wait… for Christmas to come.