Happy Christmas Eve!
When I think about Christmas and Christian romance, I think about my book Christmas in Abundance, a story of a young woman who spends her first Christmas without her family.
That reminds me of a Christmas I spent without my family, a Christmas that was very different from what I had planned.
In the summer of 1989, I took a job working as a copy editor at the newspaper in Wilmington, North Carolina. I worked nights, with Tuesday and Wednesday as my days off, and I had a little apartment fifteen minutes from Wrightsville Beach, where I lived with two adorable gray and white kittens.
I’m an only child and, since I didn’t have any vacation time yet, my parents were planning to fly in to spend Christmas with me. I marked their day of arrival on my calendar. I made Christmas cookies. I even bought a real tree and, remembering the kittens, decorated it with unbreakable ornaments and bows.
But that year, Wilmington got what was for it was a very unusual Christmas present—fifteen inches of snow.
I’m originally from Missouri, and I’d certainly seen fifteen inches of snow before. Back in Missouri, you waited a couple hours until the snowplows ran, then went on with life as usual. That wasn’t the way it worked in Wilmington! The town of about fifty thousand people shut down. One grocery store was open eight hours a day. One or two restaurants were open. Only the most major of the streets were plowed. And I was told the airport was closed “until the snow melted.”
Mom and Dad weren’t coming.
The whole county only had two road graders they were using as snow plows, so there was no way I was getting my Chevy Cavalier out of my apartment parking lot. The pipes in my kitchen froze, and I had to wash my dishes in the bathtub, which is no small feat in a tiny bathroom.
And yet, I still had to go to work. The assistant news editor was originally from the mountains and had a four-wheel drive. He drove around, picked up the copy editors, and we put out the paper. Then, once the paper went to press at midnight, he drove us all home. And each night I came home to a surprise. Either someone would have knocked the Christmas tree over or I’d find two little kittens, each hanging from a branch and mewing, my own feline musical ornaments.
All in all, December of 1989 wasn’t what I’d planned. Oh, it was exciting in a way, but it was also pretty lonely.
And yet…
Christmas came anyway. God was there.
December 25th dawned as it does each year, full of His love, full of the joy of Jesus’ birth.
This year, whether you are spending the holiday with friends or family or ornery kittens or all by yourself, I pray first of all that you don’t have to wash your dishes in the bathtub!
More importantly, I pray that you will wake up Christmas morning and remember that God loves you. And remember that he’s given you the best present ever—Jesus.
In honor of Christmas, I’m giving away a free Kindle copy of Christmas in Abundance (one Kindle copy, available worldwide) to one person who comments. I’d love to know the most snow you’ve ever seen at a big holiday, and if it changed your plans.
If you’d like to be included in the drawing, please comment by Thursday evening, Jan. 2, 2020. One person who comments on this post will be chosen at random, notified by email, and announced in a Sunday edition.
*Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.*
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About Christmas in Abundance
An art teacher avoiding Christmas. A single dad planning a holiday light show extravaganza. A yuletide clash between neighbors that might spark a dazzling romance.
Lanie Phillips has a quiet holiday planned. So quiet, in fact, that the only sounds in the house where she’s staying should be the clicks of her computer keyboard and the occasional bark from a chocolate Labrador retriever. No joyous choirs of angels, no jolly laughs from Santa, and no jingle bells—nothing to distract her from her master’s thesis or bring up painful Christmas memories.
But for the single dad who’s her closest neighbor, simple holiday decorations just won’t do. Kyle Mattox is determined to give his five-year-old daughter the best Christmas ever—one that includes an outdoor display lit with fifty thousand lights, activated in time to music shared through four giant loudspeakers.
When Lanie comes to complain that she can’t write with the lights flashing and carols blasting, Kyle realizes that—unknown to her—their circuits have crossed in the past. If he wants his daughter happy, he needs to keep that information to himself, keep the show running, and keep his distance from Lanie.
Christmas in Abundance is a contemporary Christian romance novella and is a companion story to the Abundance Series. It is a stand-alone book and is written to fit well at any point in the series.
Sally Bayless writes contemporary Christian romance that features compelling characters, real-world problems, and uplifting endings filled with the power of love. She lives in the beautiful hills of Appalachian Ohio and has two grown children. When not working on her next book, she enjoys reading, watching BBC television with her husband, doing Bible studies, kayaking, and shopping for cute shoes. For updates on her writing and a free insider’s guide to her books, subscribe to her newsletter by clicking the newsletter icon below or visiting http://bit.ly/NewsfromSally.
I wish right this moment for snow. We are experiencing horrifically hot weather.
Ice-cubes in drinks are our brave equivalent.
If it snowed on Christmas here would be a total miracle as one its summer and two It has never snowed here in my lifetime (even on the coldest days).
As Mary said its hot here going for mid to high 90’s tomorrow. We have so many fires all round Australia that snow would be welcomed to help put them out.
Your kitties sound cute. I have two rescue cats who they say would be around 2 and a half. Both were dumped so we are not certain but I have seen little one (Libby calm down a bit in the past few months). But when it comes to the Christmas tree its been knocked over and attacked. I find a squirt bottle really helps. I have had quite a few Christmas’s alone. This year I am probably the lest prepared due to the heat wave last week and the fact its already climbing back up. I have desert sorted. but still debating what I will have for a main course. (I have stuff here just now sure what it will be.)
I hope you also have a blessed Christmas
Hi Sally! As German immigrants our family spent many a Christmas alone, as our extended family lived a continent away in Germany. Living in Michigan over the years we have had our share of snow. The most memorable being the January blizzard of 1978, which closed the state for three days with over 2 feet of snow and 19 foot drifts. That year winter started Thanksgiving weekend (November 1977) with blowing blinding Lake effect snow. My father was in the hospital – 2 miles from were my mom lived. My husband and brother braved the blizzard to see my dad. On the way home, my brother walked in front of the car for a stretch so my husband could stay on the road and not slip into the ravine and creek. That year snow was still melting in June 1978. The winter of 2013 – 2014 we received 180 inches of snow. This year we will have a green Christmas. Yesterday it was almost 50 degrees. Merry Christmas.
Hi, Sally! We were all talking yesterday about the snow storm of 1989…it happened Dec 23rd here in Jacksonville FL and no one knew what on Earth to do about it here, lol!! Everything was closed, no snow plows in Florida, the roads were a mess! At least our pipes didn’t freeze, ha! I remember taking my 3year old outside and saying ” this is snow! Remember it cause who knows if you’ll ever see it again!”
I grew up in Idaho, down in the valley where we didn’t get a whole lot of snow. And since we didn’t have any family close by, even when it did snow, we weren’t planning on going anywhere (and never expected visitors). Now that I live in NC, again not in the mountains, we only get one or two snows a year, but never on a holiday. So I can’t remember a holiday when snow changed our plans.
I enjoyed this story of yours, Sally!
Here in western Canada, we usually have snow at Christmas, and yes, we’ve had enough dump down the day or so before Christmas to cancel traveling plans for us or those coming to visit. Our mountainous area has been known to get two feet of snow in a single day — too much for the snow plows to keep up with.
This year will be a brown Christmas. The 7yo grandgirl insists the fields are more yellow than brown – either way, not so inviting! We had a little snow last weekend but it rained for a couple of days and it’s all melted. This will be the third not-white Canadian Christmas that I can recall.
I’ve never seen snow!!! I’m a Native Floridian, and live on the Space Coast. Orlando has actually had snow flurries, I’ve seen frost here at home, but that’s as close as I’ve come here at home! It snowed in NW GA one year, and Daddy took us up there close to Christmas, but by the time we got there, it was all slush. I’d love to have a White Christmas!! We’re supposed to have a high tomorrow of close to 80. Today, it’s not even going to get to 70.
Mary, that sounds like an excellent solution! Merry Christmas!
I did not realize that you were in Australia–praying for and end to the terrible fires.
I am praying for an end to the terrible fires in Australia. They sound so frightening.
I guess Christmas trees are just irresistible to cats and kittens. It’s a good thing they are cute!
Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas!
Renate, my mouth is hanging open. Nineteen foot drifts!!! Wow. I lived in Champaign, Illinois, one winter and I thought that was bad, but your story tops anything I’ve ever seen. You folks inMichigan are made of strong stuff!
I’m glad you don’t have to shovel or drive in bad weather this year!
Merry Christmas!
Paula Marie,
I bet it was the same storm! I love your story! I can just imagine how fascinating snow was to a child who’d never seen it!
Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas!
I learn so much from blogging here! I picture all of Idaho as covered in snow all winter and look how wrong I am! I’m glad your holidays have been free of snow troubles. :)
Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas in NC!
Hi Valerie! Wow! Two feet in one day??? That is mind-boggling! It sounds like you might like a little snow, but personally, I’d rather have none than have two feet!
Best wishes for wonderful Christmas!
Hi Trudy,
I have to admit, I’d rather see sand than snow! It’s pretty, but I prefer warmer weather! No matter what the weather brings, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
Oh my gosh! 180″ of snow! I can’t imagine. In the Arizona desert, the closest I remember was it snowed once on December 21st. However, it melted when it hit the ground. However, when I worked a summer in Yellowstone, we celebrated Christmas in August, the only month we didn’t have snow. :-)
Having grown up in upstate New York, where snow plows are plentiful, I don’t really remember a holiday shut down by snow. Even here in Maryland, near the nations capital, snow may close schools but rarely local travel. I do remember a lonely time near Christmas, though. As a young man, I was on a business trip to New Hampshire (plenty of snow!) but the love of my life was back in Maryland. And the people I was working with were not of the wholesome variety, LOL! But I heard a program on Christian radio that reminded the listeners that a Christmas spent away from home, in less than pleasant circumstances, was exactly what Jesus had for his birth. The glory of heaven was left behind for the sake of a world buried deep in sin. It put my New Hampshire trip in perspective! So, a blessed, love-filled Christmas to us all, regardless of the circumstances. Merry, merry, y’all!
We don’t usually have snow around Christmas time anymore. I think one year we might have gotten four or five inches though. I always think snow makes it feel more like Christmas, but I know that’s not what really matters.
Hi Judy! I agree–that is a lot of snow!! And what an amazing experience to have worked in Yellowstone!
Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas this year!
Lincoln, thank you so much for sharing your comment. You’ve said it perfectly! May you, too, have a blessed, love-filled Christmas!
Hi Megan–I am much more fond of warm weather than of cold, but I agree that snow does make it feel like Christmas, especially if you get the big, fluffy flakes. Whatever your weather, I hope your Christmas is full of joy!
Hi Sally! I guess I did not reread my post. The drifts in January 1978 were 10 feet high closing the interstate for a week. Three snow blows got stuck trying to plow our street. In the parking lots snow was up to the light on light posts which are over 10 feet. As a Midwesterner I have lived through the blizzard of 1968, 1978, 1979, and 2014. Most occurred in January – after Christmas. Yes, we are made of strong stuff. As long as it isn’t an ice storm and we have power, I really do not mind being snowed in – especially when teaching school – snow days were a welcomed break. Merry Christmas.
I don’t remember what year it was or how much snow we had, but we couldn’t get out on Christmas Day. It was our year to go to my husband’s family for the day, (from northern Indiana to southern Michigan), and his mother cried because no one could get there. But a neighbor a couple of miles away came in his big tractor and took us to their house so we did have a Christmas dinner.
Hi Kathy, that sounds like a lot of snow! What a kind neighbor to take you to their house for Christmas dinner! I hope that this year you are with family–not hindered by snow–and having a lovely Christmas.
Ironically I have had cats before who would sleep under the tree, One touched an ornament once and was yelled at and never tried again. We even put the breakable ornaments on and never an issue. I babysat 2 cats for 8 months last year and they walked round it looked at it and left it alone. But these two. Henry isn’t too bad but Libby has nearly had it over so many times. She did bring it down once so am glad I didn’t put the very old breakable ornaments on.
My brother and family (think it was my S-I-L who did it) brought 2 felt mice in Christmas colours and with holly embroidered on them. They love them. Another friend gave me a cat laser pointer. I see all the videos on FB of cats chasing them but these two ignored it. But hey I am having fun with it.