Christmas

As some of you may know, I had the opportunity to come home for Christmas! And it’s quite a story. The whole trip, from beginning to end, is a reminder that God is truly in control.

Everything was out of my control from the very beginning. On December 11th, I realized that the plane ticket I originally bought wouldn’t get me home next summer like I planned, at least not without a very large fee. I was left with an un-refundable ticket home, and since most of the office would be off for Christmas anyway, I decided to use the ticket and spend Christmas at home. Less than a week later, I was on a plane headed to the States.

I was so excited for a chance to go home. But I was also sad for my friends, who I knew would have loved to see their families for Christmas, but who would be remaining behind. “Who knows?” said my friend as I described my conflicting emotions, “Maybe there’s a reason God has you coming home, and them staying here."

I decided to treat the entire trip as a giant Christmas present from Jesus. It was amazing how much I was able to do. In the same two-week period, I was able to visit with my boyfriend and his family, be there for my brother’s 18th birthday, spend Christmas day with my family, attend my roommate’s wedding, visit with friends from high school and college, and spend time with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents at our annual Grimes family Christmas gathering. Everything was timed so perfectly. It was clear that God was orchestrating this adventure for me.

But on New Year’s Eve, I still wasn’t aware of the full extent of God’s plan for this trip. I spent one last day with my extended family before my flight back, which was scheduled for New Year’s Day. As has become tradition, we went to catch a movie with our cousins (there’s a lot of us, with a wide age range, so we usually split up). I was sitting between two of my cousins, wondering what would happen after Jack slayed the giant who had just stomped on everything, when I heard a voice behind me saying “GG’s sick. We have to go.”

I remembered my aunt telling me earlier in the day that my grandma was sick, so I knew that if I was receiving this message again in the middle of a crowded movie theater that it was serious. We grabbed our coats and ran out of a still-dark theater and into the parking lot. “No, God!” I thought, fighting back tears as we rushed toward the car, “This CAN’T be the reason you brought me back here!”

At some point in the course of that hectic night, I learned enough to put together a story that highlighted the continuing theme of God’s timing. GG had experienced a sudden heart failure in her living room. My Grandpa and aunt found her, and called 911. Just as the dispatch officer was beginning to instruct my aunt in CPR, my other aunt, who is CPR certified, walked in the door. She immediately began the procedure, and continued for what must have seemed like an eternity until the ambulance arrived. As the ambulance drove toward the hospital, my family followed, certain that GG was gone. Much to their joy and surprise, the doctor at the hospital informed them that not only did she have a pulse, but she was responding to vocal cues as well.

As GG continued to improve and we began to relax, more stories of God’s timing popped up. Some of my family wouldn’t have known what was going on, but for my one-year-old cousin who happened hear his aunt’s phone vibrating in her purse and managed to grab it and toddle over to her. My cousins and I at the movie theater realized as we piled into the car that we were almost out of gas and didn’t know if we could even make it to the hospital in time (we did). My whole family happened to be in town for Christmas to help care for GG and my Grandpa, and my aunt walked in at exact right moment to save GG’s life with her years of CPR training. And I was there with my family through the whole process, instead of receiving frantic text updates from hundreds of thousands of miles away.

I am so grateful that I was able to be with my family for Christmas and during those chaotic couple of days. God may have led me across the ocean to a new place, but he also led me home right when I needed to be there. He put everyone exactly where they needed to be this Christmas. Anytime I begin to be afraid that something won’t work out (which I’m sure I will), I just need to remember this Christmas and be reminded that God’s timing is so much better than my own, and I can trust him to be in control of everything.