It was the first Christmas since my husband’s death. I would miss him so much.
December always means catalogs. I sat at the kitchen table one morning, flipping through the pages. It would be my first Christmas without my husband, Bud. I missed him terribly. All I wanted was to know he was happy in heaven.
That’s when a glittering string of jade beads caught my eye. But my excitement quickly faded. This is something I would’ve asked Bud to buy me for Christmas. I admired the necklace often over the next few days, but eventually threw the catalog away. It was just another reminder Bud was gone.
Just before Christmas I received a package in the mail. It was from my friend Kathleen. Out slipped a narrow white box. Strange, I thought. Kathleen and I have been friends for years, yet we’d never exchanged gifts before.
I lifted the lid. Tucked inside the box lay a necklace and a card. How sweet of her to think of me, I thought.
“I know you weren’t expecting a gift,” Kathleen’s card read, “but I had a dream that Bud and I went shopping for your Christmas gift. He picked out the most beautiful necklace for you. I felt strongly I had to buy one just like it to send you.”
The strand sparkled with shades of green, tan and reddish-brown. Holding it in my hands, I suddenly realized it looked exactly like the one from the catalog.
Yes, Bud was still with me. I clasped the necklace to my heart—God had answered my Christmas prayer.
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