One More Christmas 

The wind was starting to get chilly and the trees leaves were starting to fall. Autumn was here and this was a favorite time of Brenda's.

This year was different however, this year there had been so much despair with a new and deadly virus running rampant. And if things were not bad enough Brenda knew she hadn't been feeling well, something just didn't feel right.

She was not about to tell her son as he was young and she didn't want to worry him. She wanted him to have a great Christmas at least one more time with her.

She wanted to see his smile and his eyes light up from his gifts and all the wonderful food she would cook for him without worrying about what she had been dealing with the past few months.

Brenda had Leukemia and she knew the typical outcome of having this disease. What she didn't know however was that her son knew she had it, he had over heard her talking to her doctor on the phone. He had done what he could to make his mother happy and help take care of, knowing that her fate was out of his hands but he still had faith.

One day as Brenda walked through the house and toward his room while doing laundry she over heard a soft mumbling coming from her son's room.

She quietly crept up to his room and with the door barely cracked she could see him on his knees, hands clasp in front of him, praying to God that he would spare his mother and that he would be able to spend one more Christmas with her. That he wanted that more than anything else and he would give up all gifts that he normally got if he could get just this one.

Brenda crept away quickly and quietly holding back the tears, realizing he knew all along and how important he was to her. She wished there was something she could do to make his dream come true and felt guilty that she hoped God would grant her son's prayer so that she could live to see him become a man, marry and have his own family.

That would be so nice and made her feel good which is something she needed with all that had been happening in the world.

As the months passed and the holidays came and went, Christmas got ever so closer to being just around the corner. Brenda hoped that she would be able to make it to Christmas and share at least this one with her son. She wasn't going to be greedy, she just wanted at least one more Christmas.

As Christmas grew nearer and was only one week away Brenda had all the gifts wrapped up and under the tree for her son. They had made their list of all the foods they would make and enjoy. This year was different though, because instead of going to the store to get food, she sent her son out to the garage where they had a freezer and cabinets full of food they had stockpiled up due to the virus ravaging the country.

When her son was walking back with the food she had sent him out to get, the phone started to ring. He could hear it ring down the side walk going up to the house. He quickly took off running hoping it was from his cousins or grandparents that they would be here soon.

Instead when he got back in the house he found his mother standing there, with tears running down her face.

“What's wrong mamma?” he asked. Concerned that it was more bad news.

Brenda turned and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him she gave him the biggest hug and kisses on his forehead.

“It's going to be ok Tiger, it's going to be ok”. Tiger was a nick name that the family called him because he was like a little tiger when he was growing up.

“The doctor says I am in remission and that the leukemia count is so low that I'm going to be ok. The doctor has cleared me of having Leukemia!”, She said happy and excitedly as tears flooded her eyes.

“I knew it would be ok mamma, I knew God wouldn't let us down and that he would bring peace to us again. All you have to do, is have a little faith”.   

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