Christians at Christmas

Just over a year ago, in the lead up to Smidge's delivery, I laid upon a hospital bed a long, long way from home.

I was a Mother separated and a Mother torn, as it became all to clear that there was no other choice, the fabulous Mister G had to go and stay with Granny.

So you can imagine my devastation when the midwives broke the news that the put-me-up bed was to be no more, that one-day-hubby Stephen had to find somewhere else to stay other than at my bedside.

The trouble was, (and is still is) that unlike his intended, One-day -hubby Stephen is a very proud Man, and if there's one thing that gets on his goat, it's wastefulness. Hence the option of a hotel or bed and breakfast was considered an indulgance, despite the sub zero temperatures and record breaking snow fall.

No amount of persuading could convince my better half that he was indeed a worthy enough being to treat himself to the offerings of a 2 star hostel, at the minimal cost of £20.00 per night.

But thanks to one wonderful lady named Diana, he was spared from the joys of back seat sleeping and offered a safe and comfortable home in which to stay, her house being quite literally a stones throw from the hospital.

The remarkable thing was, Diana didn't know us from Adam. We had been put in touch with her through friends of friends of family. They had explained the situation and Diana was only too happy to help.

Apart from looking after Stephen, she later went on to accommodate our entire family, which makes her a jolly nice person in my book. She even let us stay during Christmas whilst she went to visit with family.

Well, you'd think that would be good fortune enough, to find such a gem during this difficult time, but amazingly there were two wonderful others who came through for our family in our time of need. They were called Trevor and Vanessa.

Like Diana, Trevor and Vanessa were Christians and when they found out about our tiny miracle baby and our being so far from home, they offered us a house to rent on a bills only basis.

This was, excuse the pun, a god send. It meant we had our own little space that we could come home to, a place where we could shed tears, drink wine and be together. It also had rather nice fixtures and fittings which were temporarily ours to enjoy.

So today I am remembering these people for their heartfelt generosity. It is thanks to them that we were able to stay close by to our Smidge and could be there for her,day in, day out with out bankrupting ourselves. 

Without Diana, Trevor and Vanessa, we would have been faced with a 300mile round trip each day, or worse still,we wouldn't have been able to stay together as a family unit.

So whilst last Christmas there was fear, sadness and uncertainty there was also kindness, warmth and hospitality and that's what I'm remembering today.