I love the saying, “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”. I couldn’t agree with this more! Outsiders looking in may think we are a strange little family. I understand why. Our daily MO is far from “normal” but our home runs like a well-oiled bike. We trek down the path of life just fine, bumps and all, and we get from point A to point B every single day.

It’s Christmas time and our sweet Elizabeth has learned to turn on the Christmas tree and an old fiber optic snowman all on her own. It’s become her holiday contribution to our family and she’s quite proud of this skill. My Husband and I call her The Light Monitor. The Christmas tree gets turned on first thing in the morning and at times she will randomly get up to turn it off. We don’t understand the logic here, but we let her be. For her, this has been a pretty ‘perfect’ Christmas so far.

Let me tell you about the worst and best Christmas we’ve ever had. It was December of 2009. Not a creature was stirring… Just kidding! We were in the ICU with a very sick little baby who had just gotten her trach and g-tube. The pain from the fresh wounds meant she had to be heavily medicated so she could sleep and not be in agony. The trach and g-tube were vital to her survival and growth but knowing this didn’t ease our pain from seeing her suffer. It still hurts to remember her grimaced face. She could no longer cry because the trach was in place and that left her without a voice. Day after day, we spent every possible moment in the hospital. Every night we slept on the hard floor of the ICU room, got up early, showered at the Ronald McDonald House and went to work. George would stay with Elizabeth during the day and go to work in the evenings until his last day. Sadly, he was fired. He often had to call in “sick” or show up late due to our difficult situation he would be stuck in and not due to irresponsibility. His work wasn’t as forgiving as mine, and of course, losing a job complicated things more.  We still had to pay rent on an apartment we didn’t live in, utilities, car payments, insurance, etc. All this on just one income.  But God quickly intervened! It wasn’t too long before he found a new and better job. On Christmas day we were showered by strangers with money, gifts and encouraging visits. One evening we decided to take a little break and rest a bit at the Ronald McDonald House. As we opened the door to our room, we saw a pile of Christmas presents! To this day, we don’t know who these were from. They were anonymous donations made to RMH families. I’m brought to tears remembering the generosity of strangers during this trying time.

Then, on Christmas morning a roar of motorcycles was heard from every floor of the Children’s Hospital of Orange County.  A group of Harley Davidson riders came to visit the children at the hospital, bringing even more gifts. Overwhelming gratitude is what we felt during Christmas of ’09.

As you can see, this Christmas wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful! People’s generosity impacted our lives greatly and have inspired us to pay it forward whenever possible. If you’re experiencing a rough Christmas season, please remember that things do get better. It is possible to find beauty in difficulty. You will look back one day only to remember Gods hand on your life and how much He’s helped you grow.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Love, The Fernandez Trio