The unexpected happened—heavy fog enveloped a large area around Chicago, slowing trains, grounding planes, bringing all travel to a halt. It was Christmas break time, and as a 19 year old student traveling to my home town in Jackson, MS, I had boarded a train around 10:30 that evening in Rochester, NY. It had been snowing, which wasn’t unusual for that area of the country.  I felt wiped out after studying for exams and was hoping I could manage to sleep some on a journey that was supposed to take about 24 hours. The train I boarded was scheduled to make a stop at a sub-station just east of Chicago where I would change to a different rail line for the remainder of the trip. And now, the unexpected fog changed everything. It caused my train to be late in reaching the Chicago area, I missed my connection, I was exhausted and had no idea what to do.

I managed to find a pay phone and called my parents. I talked to my Dad and told him about the situation. He told me to get a taxi, go into the city and check into a hotel. The problem was that I had never been to Chicago and didn’t know the names of any hotels. After hanging up, however, I remembered that my Dad had attended a business convention in Chicago a few years earlier, and for some reason I recalled that he had talked about staying at the Palmer House Hotel. So I found a taxi and asked to be taken to the Palmer House in downtown Chicago. When I reached there the desk clerk informed me that they couldn’t give me a room for the night because they were fully booked. However, they said they could give me a room for a few hours at a day-rate. I was so tired I took the room on that basis and went upstairs to try to get a few hours of sleep.

As I entered the room and shut the door the phone rang. It was my Dad! Somehow he had sensed where I would go. He told me that I was to go to the train station at 5:00 that afternoon and find the Station Manager with whom he had just spoken. My Dad had no connections with anyone at the Illinois Central Railway, yet he had gone to our local train station and insisted that he be put in touch with someone who was in charge. He was given the phone number of the Manager in Chicago. The Chicago Manager explained to him that there were no seats available on the next train scheduled to stop at Jackson, MS. My father pleaded with him and insisted that he find some way to get me on that train. Finally he told Dad that if I would come to his office at 5:00 that he would personally take me and put me on the Parlor Car of the train where I could stay as far as Carbondale, IL. From that point on a seat was open and available for the rest of the journey!

Can you imagine how I felt in hearing those words? I was exhausted, frightened, and alone in a huge unfamiliar city and didn’t know what to do. Yet in that moment I believe the heart of God was expressed toward me through my dear Dad. My Dad’s love drove him to find a way to take care of his daughter. And God’s love drives Him to take care of each of His children! Whenever I stop to reflect about what happened during that Christmas season so many years ago, I believe that God was giving me a special picture of what He is like. He sees, He knows, He cares, He acts in behalf of His children. He is the Good Shepherd, Mighty God, Everlasting Father.

And the love of God is what Christmas is all about. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9  Let us give Him thanks, and celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior, God’s only Son. Merry Christmas!