Tragedy at Christmas

Hi, this is Bernie Dake. Welcome to the Salvation Army's Words of Life. Holding back the night, bring the light of day to you. For eyes to see are key, to deliver us the light has come.

No more wandering in darkness, our hope it dwells among us. A child comes to save us. A child comes to save us. A child comes to save us. Welcome back to Words of Life. I'm Cheryl Gillum.

And I'm Bernie Dake. Last week, we began our five-week Christmas series with Eddie Hobgood. And this week, he shares a very personal testimony about a tragedy that occurred in his family on December 1st when he was 14 years old.

Wow. You know, the holidays can be very painful for some people who've gone through some tragic situations or maybe they're going through some tragic situations right now. Even just talking about this episode in the room, we were trying to recount stories of families that we know who might have pain as they think about this time of year and things that have happened in the in their course of their life. But I can honestly say, and I'll speak for my wife and I who've been through valleys, that this is a season of joy. And there's something about the strength of the community of believers, the fellowship of believers, and just knowing that other people are there praying for you.

Or I think the best illustration that I've heard people use is stretcher bearers, people being stretcher bearers for you. I want you to know that you're not alone. Yeah, you know, Christmas is all about hope. And hope is not just a feeling, but it's the assurance and the faith that we have, knowing that as Jesus came to be Emmanuel, God with us, He is with us in our present circumstances right now.

Amen. One of the greatest things we can do as fellow believers is lift each other up in prayer. And if there is something specific that we can pray for you or your family, please reach out to us, especially during this time of year.

You can get to us by email at radio at uss.salvationarmy.org or call 1-800-229-9965. The need has always been there. The need for food, shelter, compassion. This year, it just happens to be greater. If you need help, please reach out. If you can give help, please reach within. In a year with fewer red kettles, your $25 monthly donation helps rescue Christmas for the most vulnerable.

Enlist in Love's Army at salvationarmyusa.org. It was December the first and I was 14 years old. It was shaping up to be one of the best Christmases in my life. Just that day, my junior high band teacher had announced that one student would get to guest conduct the band in one piece of music at the annual Christmas concert.

And wait for it. That student would be me. I was lighter than air. I floated through the rest of the day and rather than ride the school bus home, I wanted to walk.

No, jump and run all the way home. I couldn't wait to get home and tell my mom and dad. They would be so proud. I had learned to play the cornet at the Salvation Army and had gotten a lot of grief from my schoolmates because I was one of those Sally musicians. But hard work and practice had paid off and my teacher recognized that I had skills. I was about halfway home when my best friend's mom pulled up beside me and offered to give me a ride home. No thanks, Mrs. Boyd.

I'm good. But she didn't drive off. She had a very serious expression on her face and insisted that I get in the car and let her take me the rest of the way home.

We sat in silence as she pulled up to my house and stopped the car. As I reached for the handle to open the door, she grabbed my arm, burst into tears and cried, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. What are you sorry about? I asked.

Your dad. I'm sorry. He's been killed in an automobile accident. Time stood still.

You've seen those movies or television shows where everything and everyone around a person is frozen in time. That's what happened to me. I started yelling for my dad. I ran out of the car into my house and straight into my mother's arms. She was numb.

She had been crying ever since she got the news. My dad, who was the chief of police in a nearby small town, was driving to the county courthouse to handle some business when a dump truck driver who had been drinking hit him head on. He was thrown from the vehicle and instantly killed. I never got to see him.

His body was too mangled for an open casket service. Did I mention it was December the first? Twenty four days until Christmas. I was the oldest of five children. What were we going to do?

How would we ever survive this? For all I knew, life was over. The only thing I wanted for Christmas was for my dad to walk through the front door again. I was very young in my faith.

I had attended the Salvation Army Church since I was nine and was faithfully taught about Jesus' love and care for me. But at that moment, I was feeling anything but his love and care. My world had come crashing down. Life seemed anything and everything but good. I began to think about how would we, how could we ever celebrate Christmas when such a horrible thing had happened to our family?

How would my broken heart ever be healed? And just as my level of despair began to rise, in through the front door came the captains from the Salvation Army. Mrs. Captain put on her apron and began to clean the house from top to bottom. And then she started cooking dinner.

Mr. Captain gathered the family together. And after crying with us and praying, he took me aside because I was going to be the man of the house now and spoke to me. I can't imagine the pain you're in right now, he said, but God is going to give you an extra measure of his love, peace and hope. You won't see it or understand it for a while, but he will.

I promise. And looking back, I did see it. I saw it in Mrs. Captain as she came into our house, took charge, loved and cared for us as though we were her own family. I saw it in other members of the church family as they came in, taking turns to care for us and love us through the darkest days of our lives. The captains, my captains, even in the middle of the busiest season for Salvation Army officers, came to our home every day to pray with us and remind us that God had not forgotten us. And he had not because I saw the physical evidence of that every day through the lives of all the Christ followers at my church. We went to church on Sunday and heard once again about the promise of Christmas, the promise that God made his people centuries before about what would happen when the Messiah came.

Isaiah wrote in Chapter 61, verse 1, At 14, I didn't understand at all. But as time went on and the wound didn't hurt as much and as God's people continued to love and nurture me, I began to see this verse of scripture being fulfilled in my own life. And today I am in my 38th year of being a Salvation Army officer and have been given the privilege of reminding people who are hurting and feeling like I did all those years ago that God, through Jesus, wants to heal their brokenness and set them free. I don't know what your life is like. I don't know what pains, hurts or scars you carry. But I do know that Christmas is God's way of saying, I care.

You matter. Let me walk through this thing called life with you. In my 14th year of life on earth, I learned that Christmas is so much more than gifts and food and parties. Christmas is a lifestyle, and through Christmas, God wants us to know that he desperately longs to be an intimate part of our lives.

If you go through Christmas and miss that, sad to say, you've missed Christmas. Isaiah also wrote that this Messiah would be an everlasting Father, and I have found in him everything I lost that December day and more. I have hope and faith that my earthly Father and I will be reunited again and that this relationship I have with my Heavenly Father will continue throughout all eternity.

Can you think of a greater Christmas gift to receive? I'd like to pray with you today, especially remembering those who have perhaps lost loved ones during this time of the year. So let's pray. God our Father, wow, what an incredible privilege it is to call you Father, God very God, Creator of the universe. You love us so much. You desire to have relationship with us so deeply that you sent Jesus into this world to redeem us. This is evidence of your deep love for us.

And there are those who are listening today whose hearts are broken, who have been broken because of loss, tragic loss in their lives, and it's difficult to find a reason to celebrate. I pray, Father, that you would speak to their hearts, you would speak peace to them, that they would, in a way that is even supernatural, know your love for them. You've proven it to us through Jesus.

You've proven it to us through Christmas. And so because of that love, because of that gift, we can celebrate. And you will, as you promised in Isaiah, you will heal the brokenhearted. And so today, in the name of Jesus, I pray for that for those who hurt during these days. We thank you for your love and your blessing to us, and we just give you praise and honor in Jesus' name.

Amen. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to The Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support, and we'd love to hear from you. Email us at radio at uss.salvationarmy.org. Call 1-800-229-9965 or write us at P.O.

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