Christmas.A Place I Want To Be

Christmas.A Place I Want To Be

I hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating our Lord’s birth! We started our Christmas celebration at 5 p.m. in our church. The Lovefeast was an incredible worship service to celebrate Christmas. Then, at 11:00 p.m., we returned for another celebration where communion was offered. Bec and I had the chance to worship together and go to the Lord’s Table together to celebrate Christmas. But for me, Christmas truly began on Christmas Eve when I attended a worship and candlelight service in the Health Care section of our River Landing community.

As I walked in, I saw the chaplain, Robin, greet everyone she could, personally. Many people are in wheelchairs, Rollators, and some are being pushed by family members who came to worship with their parents or grandparents. Many of the residents wouldn’t have been able to come otherwise. Robin looked at everyone in the eye, held their hand, and showed so much joy and compassion that some people wouldn’t have received otherwise. Robin has an incredible amount of compassion. Seeing family members, young and old, with their loved ones who are incapacitated due to age or health, lifted my spirits. Then, there were people who came over from our independent living area, and they greeted those who were there as well. A friend of ours said later that some of those from our independent living area don’t come because it’s a reminder of what it might be like for them in the future. It’s so sad that they would deprive those who need their smile and kindness all because of their selfishness, if for no other reason than they will need that small comfort later in their lives as well. 

Robin led worship, and, as mentioned above,  the place was full of older folks who couldn’t move around much, but many of them had family there to support them. Their faces lit up when their loved ones arrived, and it was so heartwarming to see them hold hands and share communion. It was a truly special moment. Seeing little kids sitting on their grandparents’ laps was a joy for me. The residents in the healthcare facility knew they weren’t forgotten by their families, and Robin said it perfectly - they weren’t forgotten by God either.

I started weeping quietly because I’ve came so close to death in the past year that I could almost feel it. But God extended my life, and I was so grateful to be able to worship with some of the most vulnerable people in the world. I cried because even though I’m still in pain three months after my back surgery, I can still walk to the healthcare section. I wept because I hope that if I can’t move around in the future, my family won’t forget me. But I also cried because I want to worship God even when I’m at my worst. The River Landing community encourages it. This is where I want to be. I want to connect with God, feel His presence, and have His embrace even if I can’t even lift my arms to hug Him. But many years ago, I gave my heart to Him, and He’s been holding it in His hands all this time.

A year ago, I had a near-death experience, but I didn’t die. It’s been a life-changing event that’s made me realize how precious life is, especially relationships. It’s made me more sensitive to those who’ve also faced death but didn’t die but prefer to have died than to live as they were when I saw them. It’s also made me realize that even in the darkest of times, there’s always hope. I’ve been through my own struggles, but I’ve also found comfort in the presence of God. I know that I’ll be in His Kingdom someday, and I’m looking forward to that day.

May the joy in our Savior’s birth fill all your days now and through 2026.

Grace & Peace, Quentin

Sharecropper’s Inheritance

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