12/24/68 and love
“But the greatest of these is love.”—1 Corinthians 13:13.
earth rise from Apollo 8
If you were alive on December 24, Christmas Eve, 1968, to see this picture from Apollo 8, do you remember what else you were doing? I remember much, but also so little. My husband and I were interns at John Gaston City of Memphis Hospital working that night, so we missed the traditional Christmas Eve services. Instead, we went to the quieter Christmas Day services at St. Mary’s Cathedral that next morning. We were not married until the following year, but it was a special Christmas, the first holiday we could be together. I do not remember the patients I took care of that night or what presents we gave each other for Christmas. I do remember that our best friend, Charles Stallings, taught us how to make gold and red Christmas ornament balls we hung on that first tree. We still have some large balls, and we try to tell our grandchildren, Zoe and Turner, about them, as they traditionally help us hang them or now have fun throwing the decorative balls on our tree each year.
However, the most memorable part of that Christmas was meeting Robert’s parents for the first time at their home for Christmas dinner that night. I don’t remember what we ate, but I do remember the red dress I wore. I was so nervous. I was damaged goods, and I feared they could not like or much less love me. I was divorced, and Robert was in the process of being divorced. Yet, I remember how they accepted me with open arms and treated me as if I were a lovable person from the start. Their unconditional love and care never ended. I still feel their presence today, even though they have been dead for some time.
The only way I can continue to return that love is to pay it forward today to my children, their children, and their spouse’s families. I remember when Elizabeth died that I would pray that if she continued to watch over her grandchildren, I would care for her husband, Bob. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep up my part of the bargain as well as she did. I could always have done more.
I know that love never dies. Bob and Elizabeth have taught me that. I still feel the unconditional love they showed me in so many ways, even today, over fifty years later. It is a presence. It is a feeling. It is not knowledge, but wisdom. It is present in their only son, who knows much more about unconditional love than I do. I also see it in their three grandchildren, whom they loved dearly. I know love can change the world, one person, one family at a time. I have seen it.
This is my messy story of the love that came down at Christmas.
Joanna joannaseibert.com