Cecil Murphey - The Spirit of Christmas: With a Foreword by Debbie Macomber

Contents

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to:

Our agent, Deidre Knight, The Knight Agency

Rose Hilliard, our editor,

and Cecs assistant, Twila Belk.

All three of them helped to make this book possible.

Foreword

by Debbie Macomber

Youre going to love this book. It wont matter if you picked it up because youre looking for a way to get into the Christmas spirit or because you simply love the holiday season. The minute you start reading the first story, youll find yourself unable to put the book down. I devoured every word, every story, flipping the pages, wanting more. I laughed, I cried, I poked my husband and read whole paragraphs to him.

Each and every story plows a path directly to your heart. If your family or friends complain that they just cant get into the spirit of Christmas, hand them this book. If you hear a modern-day Scrooge lamenting all the work and effort associated with Christmas, hand himor herthis book. Trust me, they will thank you.

I read it in March, a full nine months before Christmas. By the time I turned the last page, I was ready to drag out my decorations, trim the tree, and bring out my Nativity set.

You might be saying: Another book about Christmas? Really? What more can people say about the most wonderful time of the year? Quite a lot, actually. True, its a great occasion for some of us. For others its nothing but stress, demands, family drama, and overextending our credit limits.

Whichever group you belong to, Christmas lovers, complainers, or somewhere in between, this is a book worth reading. And its especially worth reading if youre a member of the down-on-Christmas group.

If, like many of us, you have memories of being alone and broke at Christmas, youll definitely relate to Cecil Murpheys story about a surprise dinner invitation that meant the world to him and his young wife. It came from a college professor who, in giving, received the greatest gift.

Have you ever been caught in a long line at the post office? Its the worst. Traffic jams in the parking lot, hauling in packages only to discover a line that stretches out the door. Thats what confronted Wayne Scheer. And yet he walked away uplifted with a smile on his face. Now thats the Christmas spirit, and youll feel it all the way to your heart just as Wayne did when you read his touching story.

Jean Matthew Hall writes about the Christmas when there was absolutely no money. Not even for food. Dinners consisted of cooked oatmeal or frozen pizza. Then an unexpected delivery was made, showing us yet again that God knows our needs even before we can tell Him. Oh, there was ice cream and orange juice and turkeyan entire smorgasbord of the very best for this young family.

These are stories that will linger in your mind. Stories that remind us that Christmas isnt just a time to give and receive gifts. Its a season of love and appreciation for the gifts God has already given us. A reminder of how blessed we are with or without the material trappings of the season. These stories tell us that the poorest Christmases are often the richest ones in our memories.

There are tales of special gifts given in love by parents who sacrificed to make sure their children received that long-anticipated toy. Stories that point us to the realization that our heavenly Father chose to express His love for us through the gift of His only son. The personal accounts in this book help us understand that joy comes not from receiving but from giving of ourselves to others.

One of my favorites is Twila Belks story about a family opening their home and hearts to a homeless family. They were blessed with a big house but no furnitureempty rooms soon filled with wall-to-wall mattresses. The Belks discovered that it was possible to be grateful for the lack of material goods and their stained, needing-to-be-replaced carpet. Youll enjoy reading how these two families came together to create a meaningful Christmas neither will forget.

Stories about Christmas usually feature childrens wishes, but Chris Griffin tells of a wish his elderly mother made, a wish God chose to grant. It involved a fire truck driving through their neighborhood, carrying a Santa who tossed out candy to local children. This was one very special moment that allowed a woman close to the end of her life to see Him at work. The fact that God granted her wish proves that He is indeed with us and hears even the smallest of requests. Small to some, but huge to others.

While all the stories will inspire and encourage, the ones that depict Christmas miracles stirred my emotions most, such as Ada Brownells story of driving through a blizzard to reach her daughter, Carolyn, on Christmas Day. Carolyn was dying of cancer and her parents wanted nothing more than to spend the holidays with her. Their journey through impossible conditions had me reaching for the tissue box. Yet despite the sadness, there was joy in the gift of this last Christmas with their daughter. It was truly a miracle of love.

These are personal accounts that would seem beyond imagination if they werent true. The pages of this book are filled with stories of hope, love, sacrifice, and joy, stories that will bring you the spirit of Christmas.

Like I said, youre going to love this book!

1. Alone and Broke at Christmas

Cecil Murphey

I chose to do my first year of college at a small school in southern Texassixteen hundred miles from home. Shirley was pregnant with our first child and had complications with her pregnancy. That meant we were unable to travel back to the Chicago area for the Christmas holidays. Even if she had been able to travel, we didnt have the money.

I went to school on veterans benefits. By watching our finances closely, we survived. We regularly ate Krafts macaroni-and-cheese mixes, bought hurt cans and marked-down vegetables at the supermarket. Neither of us considered it a sacrifice. In many ways, it was an adventure.

Christmas season began on Tuesday and most of the afternoon the campus was a plethora of people rushing from place to place and cars driving out of the campus. The last students left early Wednesday morning. By Thursday, two days before Christmas, the classrooms were empty. They closed the library and locked the student dorms. No one would return for ten days. In the married couples dorm we were the only ones still on campus. We didnt have a telephone and it was long before computers, so we depended on the postal service for connecting with our families.

I had checked out all the books from the library that I thought I might want during the holiday period. I looked forward to the opportunity to study without pressure.

On Christmas Eve, Shirley and I had a meal that was a mixture of a dented can of corn and an even more dented can of chili. Someone had given us a box of candles that had been delicately used, as the person said. Shirley had embroidered my initials on six new handkerchiefs. I had bought her a small bottle of cologne.

The church where we worshipped had a Christmas Eve service and we attended. Normally the church was full, but that night not more than thirty people came to the special service.

Christmas morning would be like any other day except we would have a nicer mealmeat loaf and baked sweet potatoes, food not normally on our diet.

About nine thirty, someone knocked on the door of our two-room apartment. I was shocked that anyone else was on campus. When I answered the door, the man smiled at me. We hadnt met, but I knew his last name was Willard. He was one of the instructors at the college.