15 Years ago Today

I had just finished semester exams and was settling for a lazy game of Rook with guys in the dorm - planning to while away a few hours and shake off the weight of heavy thinking - when the phone rang. My mother - from Ecuador - saying dad had a massive heart attack on the last day of his visit to Mexico City and that he hadn't survived. That was 15 years ago, 5479 days ago. It was the last time I thought about what I was going to ask my dad on our Christmas break. Life since then has been rich, full of education, mission, marriage and family. But it has all been different - far different than it would have been had dad survived Mexico City. The carol says it well: "Tidings of comfort and Joy" For those whose Christmas is full of mixed emotions, may God bring both Comfort and Joy this year.