Article: There has never been a...

There has never been a time when Christmas miracles were more needed among us than now. In the aftermath of this country's greatest tragedy - the devastation that once was the twin towers in New York and the untouchable Pentagon in Washington, D.C., I asked myself that question and realized that this was why I write miracle stories.

All of us are desperate for miracles. Especially Christmas miracles.

Something about Christmas assures us that life is and will continue regardless of terrorist plots and massive human loss. Christmas reminds us that God is with us, that our pain is His pain. And that sometimes - if you look carefully into a winter sky - you'll see the same star of wonder the Wise Men saw two thousand years ago.

Christmas has always been special for me, a time when I take as many quiet moments as possible to reflect on both the days gone by and the New Year ahead. I fear too often we are lost in the hustle and bargain frenzy that results in piles of presents under the tree. And in the process we sometimes miss the most important gift of all - the miracle of God's love.

This year, I doubt many of us will be lost in holiday materialism. But we may be tempted toward sadness and depression, hopelessness that comes from months of living in a fog of pain. National pain.

Ah, but this is when Christmas miracles work their magic best of all.

The stories in Treasury of Christmas Miracles are true. They give us real, tangible hope that goodness still abounds more than hatred, and God more than evil.

For our family, we will take time this Christmas season to examine our own little miracles - three first-grade boys whom we adopted from Haiti. They joined our family in March and this year will be celebrating their first Christmas with us.

A few months ago Sean, one of our adopted sons, was talking about toys when our birth son, Tyler, walked up and asked, "Is he talking about Christmas?"

Sean's eyes grew wide. "We get toys for Christmas? I thought it was Jesus's birthday!"

Isn't that the truth for all of us? It is the birth of Christ we celebrate, and yet the gifts are ours. Look around this Christmas and see the precious gifts you cannot wrap. Family and friends, jobs, good health. As you look, you might just see your own Christmas miracle, one that you will forever treasure deep in your heart.

Enjoy this collection of miracle stories and be reminded this Christmas that despair never lasts forever. No matter how dark the night, morning comes, and with it the miracle of a new day.

And Christmas morning brings the greatest miracles of all.

© 2001 by Karen Kinsbury