“PRECIOUS JEOPARDY” How A Seemingly Life Threatening Situation Led To A Family’s Christmas Miracle
Another story in our special series—DAYS OF MAGICAL and MIRACULOUS CHRISTMAS STORIES for sharing and reading aloud to all of your beloveds
THE DAWNING LIGHT,Volume 7, # 647 Wednesday, December 13, 2023
CHILD PEACE STORIES Section # 9 Read Aloud Stories For All Ages!
Selected, edited and shared by Chinmayan to brighten your Christmas
All images in this story courtesy of Pixabay
PRECIOUS JEOPARDY—How A Seemingly Life Threatening Situation Led to A Family’s Christmas Miracle
By Yeshe Gyamtso
Phil Garland was totally depressed and disgruntled on one particular Christmas Eve because he had just lost his job.
His family’s financial situation had been difficult enough even when he was working full time at a job he hated —but now it seemed impossible.
That evening his wife Shirley tried to include Phil in some of the Christmas Eve activities with their children, Polly and Junior, but Phil just grumbled about the price of the few gifts they had been able to bay for the kids.
He complained about everything about the season that had once been so special for all of them and said Christmas was way too overly commercialized anyway.
Eventually Shirley helped Polly and Junior get ready for bed. Then, tearfully, she retired to their bedroom.
A few minutes later she heard Phil screaming in pain and calling for her from the hall.
He yelled for her to go get the pliers. “I’ve stepped on a sewing needle.”
Shirley brought the pliers, and Phil clamped the jaws on the needle protruding from his foot and pulled.
To his shock, only the top half of the needle came out, as if the half with the sharp point was still buried in his wounded foot. Phil was sure he could feel it deep inside the bulging wound.
He and Shirley discussed the possibility of his going to the emergency room at the hospital that night to have the other half of the needle removed. But Phil, even though he was in pain, assured her it could wait until morning.
The next day on Christmas, after dejectedly participating with his family as they opened the few presents under the tree, Phil drove to the hospital but paused outside the door.
Now without a job, it also meant he had no insurance to pay for the surgery…and what little savings they had was sorely needed to pay bills and put food on the table.
Somewhere he had heard that if you get a tiny fragment in your body and do not remove it, it could eventually move to one of the vital organs and cause death.
Thinking of his finances and that they really couldn’t afford to pay for a medical emergency, Phil decided to leave the needle fragment in his foot and take the consequences, whatever they may be.
He drove home and told Shirley that everything had been taken care of.
From that moment on Phil believed his life was in jeopardy.
He really didn’t know if he was going to live from one day to the next, and so he decided he would try to make the most of life on a day to day basis.
That Christmas Day, after getting home, there was a marked change in Phil.
He treated Shirley with much more love and kindness and spent time playing with Polly and Junior.
This Christmas Day was the first day in a long time that Phil felt truly close to his family.
Tomorrow he might be dead, but today he would enjoy the important things in life.
And strangely, money no longer seemed important.
Tomorrow did come, and Phil Garland again found himself alive.
For the second day he was especially considerate to his wife and children, because it might be the last day of his life.
Each day thereafter Phil spent more time with Shirley, Polly and Junior, while taking odd jobs daily to support his family.
Day after day, Phil learned how to appreciate and be grateful for the many blessings in his and his family’s life that he had taken for granted before.
Because he felt his life could end at any moment, Phil learned to treasure every moment of everyday and this led to a total transformation in his attitude.
Phil became more and more loving as the things that once worried him so much and caused him so much despair were seen as trivial now that he realized how precious and wonderful simply being with his family was.
This period of what his wife called their time of “Precious Jeopardy” ended, as it began on Christmas Eve, one year later.
The Garlands celebrations contrasted sharply with those of the previous Christmas, because Phil was happy and at peace.
He had lived long enough to celebrate another Christmas with Shirley and the children.
On Christmas Eve Phil played a few games with the children.
Then the family exchanged a few gifts each had made during the year.
During those months Phil had secretly made a beautiful walnut sewing cabinet for Shirley. She wept at his thoughtfulness when he showed it to her.
As the clock struck midnight on Christmas Eve, Shirley handed Phil her gift – a small box containing a tiny fragment of steel pierced through a piece of velvet. It was the other half of the needle Phil thought was in his foot.
Shirley was in tears, asking Phil’s forgiveness.
She had found the other half of the needle a few days after he had his accident, but had secretly kept it because it had, in a sense, given Phil back to his family.
Phil, gratefully realizing how his life had changed since the previous Christmas, put his arms around her and smiled.
Because of the past year of “precious jeopardy” of believing his life could end at any moment, he had discovered and come to appreciate the truly important things in life.
He had become a new and better man and would never return those old worn out ways before he realized how blessed and fortunate he really was.
Something that had seemed so terrible and hopeless became the catalyst for a wonder filled new life for Phil and his family as they truly celebrated the miracle of Christmas together.
A BEAUTIFUL HEART WARMING CHRISTMAS SONG and VIDEO FOR YOU!
Complete with on screen lyrics for easy sing along!
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
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What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, Courage for the present, Hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that Every cup may overflow with Blessings, rich and eternal, And that every path may Lead to peace on earth And goodwill for all.
—Agnes M. Pharo