Insisting that the word “cute” was only for old men and puppies (not strapping young men like himself), a friend of mine in high school did not like to hear me refer to him in that way. Well, there was one old man to whom I definitely referred to as “cute” and that was Mark’s grandpa. His manners were endearing and rather than try to remember names, he would call all of the girls “Susie.” New to the family, I found this to be completely charming and he won me over from the start.

A couple weeks ago I shared a story with some friends in Utah about a friend of mine that I want to record here. Like Mark’s grandpa, I am going to call her Susie. Unlike Mark’s grandpa, I do remember her real name quite well but choose to grant her anonymity.

I first met Susie when a young man brought her to church. The setting is in Washington State about fifteen years ago. Susie was raised without religion and her parents were divorced. Mom was in Texas and Dad lived in Washington. She later told me that walking into church that day felt like coming home and she jumped right in to full activity. Because I was in charge of the girl’s youth program at the time she also became a favorite with our family. Susie was a straight A student and involved in school activities. She was kind, thoughtful and fun to be around.

Susie’s father was wary of her new Christian lifestyle and eventually insisted that he would need to talk to me before she would be allowed to hang out with us anymore. Of course! We met and he later told Susie how surprised he was that I was… well, I think he used words like young, cute, normal…. He had been expecting and shriveled old crone perhaps? Certainly a nun. Anyway, she had permission to continue with her new friendships and lifestyle.

Social media was in its early stages at the time. When Susie left for Texas after high school we lost touch. Unbeknownst to us, at some point Susie returned to Washington to live with her dad. This time things were not so smooth and the two of them fought. One evening he became abusive and Susie left. She was a strong girl and not about to put up with that – good for her! However, she didn’t know where to turn and lived in her car for a couple nights before some scroungy young man she had known in high school found her and took her home to his dark, drug-filled den. Dramatic? Perhaps – but this boy was not very likable at all. The whole situation was dark.

How did we learn about all of this? I simply cannot remember, but somehow we made a connection. It was probably through our mutual friend who had initially brought Susie to church.

All of this was occurring as Christmas was approaching – within a day or two of Christmas in fact. We had a joyful reunion, she accepted our invitation to spend the holiday with our family and we rounded up a few gifts to share. She came on Christmas Eve and joined in all of our traditions. It seemed natural to have her with us opening presents the next morning.

The final gift under the tree was a well-taped box from the Philippines. Nathan was serving as a missionary and had sent us the box a couple months earlier. We left it all taped up because we were not sure if anything was wrapped. It was fun to open the box and distribute the little Filipino gifts that he had thoughtfully shared.

Included in the box was a stack of letters for each member of the family. I distributed them to Dad, Greg, Jackie, Natalie, David, Kimberly….. and what?! ….. Susie!

There was a letter for Susie!

When Nathan had written those letters and sealed up that box we had not seen or heard from her in ages. We didn’t know where she was. It had only been a couple of days since our reunion! Not only that – we were pretty much on our own for Christmas morning every year with only a rare visit from grandparents. There was just no plausible explanation for someone being at our house or for that letter being in that box. There were no other letters or mention of any other family friend.

Just that letter for Susie!

It was as though a gush of wind came through the room and took our breath away. To this day if I mention that moment to a family member we have to stop and recall the feelings that came. How can I express it? We couldn’t speak. It was amazing.

It was a Moment!

It was a Miracle!

It was a Message! A message to Susie and to all of us. God knows who we are. He is aware of us and our circumstances. He loves us!

I haven’t heard from Susie for over twelve years. If she no longer has her letter I know that she has her “moment!” I hope that some day that “moment” will return to her memory and she will know that she is not alone. We are never alone.

We asked Nathan how in the world he had ever thought to include a letter for Susie? He just said that he felt that he should write it and put it into his Christmas package. Who knew?! God knew!

I have had many “moments” in my life. I can refer back to them as needed and they are powerful. Sometimes we share “moments” with each other. I wanted to share Susie’s “moment” because on Christmas morning, with or without a letter, we can all know that there is a God in Heaven who is aware of all of us and loves all of us. Oh how we celebrate His birth! Joy to the World!!