A Real Christmas Story

Hello All, I wanted to share a Christmas story with everyone. Its a true story and I wanted to share it because I believe it expresses the true meaning of the Christmas spirit. I am not telling it to get kudos or anything like that, just to remind us all that God is with us all the time.

Here goes, well most of you know me, Beth, but for those of you who dont I will recap: DX May 07 stage 3 colon cancer, had surgery, chemo, radiation and more chemo, NEDS June 08, Nov 08 reoccurance with mets to my lung (now stage 4), had surgery and now will be starting chemo again in the next week. Now most of you dont know that my partner is not well either, she has Hep C, and we just visited her doctor today and they are testing her for Liver Cancer, crazy huh? Can you just see it both of us with Cancer! The doctor told us not to worry to much it could just be her liver acting up and that they could treat that and she would have many more years to live. So here we are, me with Cancer about to start Chemo, her with problems caused by Hep C and possible facing the fact she might have cancer too, needlessly to say not to much into the Christmas spirit!

Well a few days ago, our good friends and neighbors moved out of their house and rented it to some people from CA. Well they show up at 2 am one morning, he is 55 and his wife is 27, and they have 5 yes I said 5 kids. Well they show up with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They told us this crazy story about how they hired some guys to drive their Uhaul down for them and the guys ended up stealing most of their stuff for drugs. It was a crazy mess and we felt bad for them. We ended up taking them some blankets and pillows, towels, bathroom stuff and letting them borrow one of our matresses. They were all sleeping on the cold floor. We tried to give what we could and to give things that we thought they needed for just daily use.

Well today, Wendy and I decided to help them out for christmas. The mother was saying how is she going to explain to 5 kids that santa didnt come this year. Well Wendy and I werent having that happen. I dont care if I have to file bankruptsy or go over my CC limit, those kids were going to have something for Christmas. So, Wendy, I and Stephanie (the mom) went shopping, we got the kids a whole bunch of things, I spent over 3 hundred dollars and loved doing it. We were also going to go to a local thrift store to get some clothing but by the time we finished shopping, Wendy wasnt feeling so well, so we decided to wait till another day for the clothes shopping.

So those kids are never going to forget this christmas, and they will know that santa never forgot them either!

Well when we got home, we had the most incredible present waiting for us. There is no amount of money that could be put on a gift like this. We told Leonard (the father) he shouldnt have and that we never in a million years expected anything in return, other then to pay it forward if ever they had the chance. It was so touching and it truly brings to mind the spirit of Christmas, well it did for Wendy and I. To us it is so wonderful that I wanted to share it with everyone, I believe this is a true story straight from God!

Here is the gift we received from Leonard, hope all enjoy it as much as we did, it brought tears to our eyes:

These Two Ladies
For Beth and Wendy These Two Ladies are AWESOME !!

I recently met Two Ladies
That are living near to me
Although I've not known them long
Have become quite dear to me

Their generosity and their kindness
Would,today boggle the mind
Their compassion and willingness to give
Is truly a rare find.

In their hardships and their torment
That they have to face each day
For the sake of someone who is in need
They put their problems away

These Two Ladies are special
In so many special ways
Their always there in time of need
On any given day

If ever you are lucky enough
To seek and to find
A friend like These Two Ladies
Will definately blow your mind

by
Leonard Shannon


May God bless us ALL this holiday season!
Beth