Mom always had a way of making Christmas magical. Of course there were always lots of brightly wrapped gifts under the tree in the morning. But most cherished are the memories of her watching my treasured Christmas shows with me. She on her side of the couch and me snuggled up as close as I could be - my feet tucked under her to keep warm. These were innocent times when the world felt completely warm and safe. I felt truly whole. I felt loved and important and I had the universe- what any child would want. My father was seated a couple of feet away in his recliner and if I managed to catch his eye he would wink or smile and look so pleased at my contentment. I knew in those moments that he knew what I was feeling. We spoke the language of togetherness. We shared the excitement and anticipation of the next morn. I recall my mother needing to go out one Christmas eve and I always had to go along with her. It had snowed and and I can still remember hearing the crunching sound of the tires moving through the deep snow. Ahead, in the light of the cars beams I could see the snow sparkling. It was so pretty. Up ahead we saw something laying in the road. As we got closer we saw that it was a baby deer who had most likely been hit by a car. I was overwhelmed with what I saw. I begged my mother to stop so we could take it home and take care of it. I begged her and said: " Jesus would want us to." She stopped and seemed deep in thought. She agreed that Jesus is very kind and would want us to help. As she pulled the car up closer the seemingly gravely injured deer leaped up and bounded off into the trees that lined the road side. My mother and I both looked at eachother in surprise. We had just witnessed a miracle on Christmas. This memory has stuck with me for over fourty years. There is not a year that goes by that I don't think of that night. I remember it fondly as one of my earliest memories of knowing that God is in control of our world , much like the warmth and security I felt in my earliest days with my parents, I knew that no matter how bad things got Jesus would take care of it.