It’s A Christmas Miracle

I woke up on the morning of December 24, 2020 to an unusual sound. Normally I  arouse from sleep to the sound of the water fountain spilling its rhythmic contents over  the ornate sculpture that resides outside my bedroom window. But on this day, the  sound of individual drops of heavy rain pitter-pattering on the roof overhang, drowned  out the sounds of the fountain and, for a brief moment, I smiled in the delight of the  rain. It was a sweet sound, since the last ten years there has been so little rain in  southern California. Upon fully awakening from sleep, my daughter, Lily, drifted into my  room to wish me a good morning, and she immediately walked to the window. With her  extended index finger she pulled down a venetian blind slat and, without skipping a  beat declared, “It’s a Christmas Miracle.” We simultaneously laughed at the witty  comment. For me, her declaration was even funnier since our family only celebrates  Jewish traditions. However, her comment also sparked memories of my own childhood  growing up on the East Coast. 

In New York, Christmas break from school was usually filled with family, trips out of  town, and well, snow. Snow falling on Christmas was often seen as the “Christmas  Miracle.” Throughout my childhood, Christmas was synonymous with snow, even  though we all knew that the birth of Jesus occurred in a country that didn’t even have  snow. My thoughts quickly recounted my first fifteen years of childhood and I began to  think about the concept of miracles. 

On the surface it feels like 2020 has been filled with anything but miracles. But being  an eternal optimist, I was determined to spend Christmas Eve thinking about my 2020  miracles. My family has lived in Huntington Beach for the last ten years and, over the  first nine years, I have worked as an emergency room nurse in a local ER. This past  year, I decided to take my skills on the road and, while my husband held down the fort,  I travelled to San Francisco, New York and the California high desert, providing care to  communities in the throes of dealing with COVID-19. During this time, I saw many  tragedies, but also many miracles. I witnessed patient illness, but also recovery. I  witnessed pain and joy. I witnessed sunshine and rain. And perhaps my greatest  miracle is not having contracted COVID while spending endless hours caring for COVID  positive patients.  

On December 24, after spending a good portion of the day running last-minute errands,  I drove home at three-thirty in the afternoon on my favorite section of the Pacific Coast  Highway that runs from Sunset Beach to downtown Huntington Beach. As the clouds to the east were dispersing from the sky I saw an incredible rainbow. Could it be  another “Christmas Miracle?” I pulled over to the side of the road to take in its beauty. I  sat there until the rainbow disappeared. Despite its absence, the remembrance of it remains inside of me. I will continue to look for the miracles that are waiting for each of us in 2021 and, I hope you will join me in this optimism and remember your own  “Miracles” now, and in the year ahead.