Selection Box: Brett Nordquist “My Most Memorable Christmas Eve”

Today, Mr. Twitter October Brett Nordquist is stepping up the plate and Selection Boxing!

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The year was 1987. It would be the first time I’d spend Christmas away from family and friends. Volunteering as a missionary for my church had taken me to Cologne, Germany where my friend and I would celebrate the holidays.

Or so I thought.

Neither of us had much money and that which we had went towards food, bus fare, and a tiny apartment on the seventh floor of an old brick building. We kept expenses to a minimum by eating potatoes, pasta and hearty German breads. We left the lights off during the day and turned the heater off at night. That meant I jumped into bed wearing a parka, gloves and a hat pulled down over my ears. I awoke each morning to feet that were numb from the chilly conditions.

Our job, if you can call it that, was to give service to others and invite people to church. This is a difficult proposition during slow months but nearly impossible during December as people hustle around town preparing for the holidays.

Although we didn’t perform many of our normal duties during this time we enjoyed watching families select gifts at the downtown Christmas Market which was full of handmade items. One could find hand crafted candles, castles made of gingerbread and enough savory smooth chocolate to keep even the biggest sweet-tooth happy.

But we were outsiders looking in on all the fun. As much as I would have enjoyed selecting gifts for my family, I didn’t have the means to do so. Money was even tighter for my friend who had to cut back on food that month in order to purchase enough stamps to mail Christmas cards.

Christmas Eve rolled around as did a thick layer of fog making it impossible for us to see the street from our window. I stared out the window thinking how happy my family would be if I had were able to send them a box full of gifts. I felt as though I had let them down. I was living Germany where Christmas is celebrated with with a fervor, and my family would have nothing to show for it.

I had to get out of that cold apartment. I had do something to take my mind off my family whom I sorely missed.

I calculated that if I carefully budgeted my money over the next week, I had enough to buy us dinner at the Greek joint around the corner. It took some coaxing to get my friend there, but we eventually found ourselves munching on a gyro with pomme frites and whipped mayo on Christmas Eve. I wasn’t surprised to find we had the place to ourselves.

The meal was fantastic. But that’s not what I remember most about that night.

What made that night memorable was listening to my friend tell me about his family. He told me about his mother and the sacrifices she was making so he could be there. He told me about his brothers and sisters and about how much he missed them. He explained that he didn’t feel he was sacrificing at all because he wasn’t accustomed to having much in life.

It didn’t take long for me to realize how blessed I’d been. Although I didn’t have many gifts to hand out, I had my health, my family and friends and my faith. On that night, I learned those were the gifts that mattered most.

And they still do.

December 28th, 2008 at 9:57 am • Filed in Blogging, Selection Box



Comments

One Comment to “Selection Box: Brett Nordquist “My Most Memorable Christmas Eve””

  1. Guest Blogger | Nordquist Blog Says:
    December 28th, 2008 at 10:41 am

    [...] Alexia Golez, who authors one of my favorite blogs, asked me to write a guest post for her blog. I felt honored and decided to write about my most memorable Christmas Eve. [...]



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