Christmas is known as the season of light. Itโs when Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of The True Light – Jesus. Thatโs why our home and trees are illuminated โ itโs a reference to the light God gave us. And sometimes in your life you are fortunate enough to see a glimpse of The True Light. This is one of those times.ย
I was backstage at the local comedy club, about to do a holiday show, when the owner burst into the dressing room. He told me my mom had been in a wreck and I needed to get to the hospital immediately. I rushed to my car and headed downtown.
I bolted into the emergency room and found my sister, Paula, who was sitting between my aunt and a Black woman. Paula stood up and told me everything. It wasnโt good. Someone โt-bonedโ momโs car on the driverโs side as she pulled out on a main road after taking my aunt home. The woman sitting beside my sister was a nurse named Carla, who not only witnessed the wreck, but attended to mom.
Carla and her family were living in a tiny apartment that faced the road. Seconds after the collision, she ran to the vehicle, opened the passenger door, and through the fog of the deployed air bag found my mother. Mom was alive, but badly injured. Carla immediately dialed 911, then pulled motherโs phone from her purse and called the last person visible on the screen, my Aunt Eileen. When Eileen told Carla she didnโt drive, Carla picked her up and followed the ambulance to the hospital. There she sat like a member of our family: a complete stranger, the living embodiment of the Good Samaritan.
Carla patiently waited with us until the doctor called the family in for consultation. Without hesitation we brought her into the meeting. My mother had life-threatening injuries that would require immediate surgery. At that point, we prepared for an all-night vigil in the lobby. I insisted that Carla leave, which she did reluctantly, but not before taking my aunt home.
The next day we learned that Carla and her family were also facing great adversity. Earlier in the year, lightning had struck their home, and it burned to the ground. They lost almost everything. The small apartment they were living in was a stopgap measure until they found a better alternative.
In the meantime, my mom was fighting for her life, but not without help. While visiting mother, Paula found Carla in her ICU room praying aloud for healing. All of us marveled how Carla was so concerned about a complete stranger during a time when her own life was so difficult. It was time for our family to return the love.
My siblings took up a collection and did some Christmas shopping for Carla and her family. We brought everyone presents, wrapped them, then invited them to my motherโs home a few days before Christmas. After opening the gifts, we presented them with some cash to help move to a better apartment. Tears flowed as she hugged each one of us, saying, โI donโt deserve this!โ
I responded through tears of my own, โThis is the way itโs supposed to work. God put you in our path to help us, and we were put in your path to help you. Itโs a blessing
for everyone.โ
My mother died on Christmas Eve. At the funeral three days later, Carla was there, sitting with us in the family pews. All of us learned firsthand that God intends Christmas to be a time when we give of ourselves.
Every year when we put up our Christmas tree and see the lights illuminate the house, I always recall the night when the light of a stranger came into our lives in a time of need. I think of Carla. I count myself fortunate that I saw The Light reflected through her.
Merry Christmas, everyone.ย
Joeย Hobbyย is a standup comedian, a syndicated columnist, and a long-time writer for Jay Leno. Heโs a member of Cullman Electric Cooperative and is very happy now that he can use Sprout from his little place on Smith Lake. Contact him atย [email protected].
