Written by: Sophia Roman
Article source: JOY! Magazine

Elaine left Johannesburg and arrived in a windy Cape Town with her children, Carol (9), Kim (7), and young Andrew (only 5). The kids were hanging on her skirt while she was shuffling with one big suitcase (their only possessions), trying to find which direction Brooklyn was. They finally found their way, starting life all over again. Elaine travelled light to this end, yet carried heavy baggage in her soul.

The family was exhausted, expectant, and numb. They had been casualties hit by the shrapnel of an abusive husband’s selfish agenda. The reality of substance abuse, domestic violence, and alcoholism was all they had known for years. Moving to Cape Town was Elaine’s only way of escaping. At least her only sibling, her older sister, lived there. One thing that stood strong in her was that she carried the same hope that bloomed over Bethlehem so many Christmases ago. The hope of freedom that was birthed in a barn.

Christmas, the best time of the year?
Elaine promised to be gentle with herself and her little ones. They had suffered too much for too long. She magnified God’s great Name above the mess, remembering that because of the mess Jesus was birthed into, hers was not going to be forever.

Huffing and puffing, pulling her suitcase with the kids tagging along, she heard the song “Christmas, its best time of the year,” playing loud and clear. To be honest, it was the loneliest time of the year for them. After a painful divorce that she never thought would ever happen, this was the time of the year when the pain would get stronger and deep loneliness was felt.

With her meagre salary working for an NGO, she would do her best to create an atmosphere in her home that would remind them all that it was a special time of the year. For years, the kids have all had hand sewn Christmas stockings. Whatever was placed in them on Christmas Eve brought some relief, and everyone was just so happy that there was a gift under the tree for each one.

‘All I want for Christmas is a daddy’
A few weeks before Christmas, Elaine had asked her kids to write down one thing that they wanted from Father Christmas. She would go out of her way to make sure every need was met, as best she could. As she read her youngest son’s request, drops of tears mingled with the ink on the note, just in time to read before the words faded away. “Father Christmas, please give me a daddy for Christmas”. Her son’s request is one she could never meet. Silently sitting, that night, Elaine prayed, “Jesus, how can I ever thank You for breaking into our darkness with Your heavenly light? You came as life, to make all things possible. Amen.” The words of O Little Town of Bethlehem played in her thoughts, “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in.”

God working silently
It was on a Christmas Eve three years later when Father God blessed Andrew with a daddy who loves and provides for them, a man after God’s heart. “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. For nothing is impossible with God.’” – Luke 1:35, 37

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Date published: 29/11/2022
SOPHIA ROMAN – pioneer, visionary and life transformation coach. Sophia and her husband Theo pastor the West Reach AOG Church in Mitchells Plain.

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