It seems all that all we have to hear is, “it’s December,” and we at once embark on a trip down memory lane and most often to our childhood. One of my favorite memories dates back to when I was about 4 years old. My Dad always took us to Sunday Mass and we were just beginning to learn about this wonderful baby Jesus. It just stunned me to think that this baby called Jesus was so thoughtful to all the people of the world. How was it possible that He could know each one of us and love all of us the same? My heart was full of childlike wonder. Eventually, it dawned on me that Jesus could make my wishes come true. Wow! Things began to take a turn. My 4-year-old self desperately wanted a toy refrigerator and it seemed that all I would have to do would be to ask the baby Jesus and it would appear! I remember going to my bedroom and asking the baby Jesus to please let me have this refrigerator. Using my best manners, I waited for what I thought was a suitable amount of time and then I went down to the basement where we kept our toys to see if it had appeared. It, of course, was not there. Years later, my Mom told me that I must have made that trip close to a dozen times when she became curious and asked me what I was doing. I explained the whole process. She gently told me that God does not do magic. She said that I continued to make that journey from my bedroom to the basement multiple times before my bedtime. I remember some of this and I remember thinking that I most certainly must have done something very wrong to cause the baby Jesus not to give me that refrigerator. I do also remember feeling sorry for myself.

Can you imagine my complete surprise and utter joy on Christmas morning when I found my much-wanted refrigerator under our Christmas tree!

That was the beginning of a deeper understanding of the mysterious ways in which God works. God is not and does not do magic. God works mysteriously not magically. God always listens and He always answers. The answers may not be immediate and they may not be what we want but they will be what God knows is best for us.

In the many years since that Christmas, I have asked many things of God. My requests have matured as have I. It is much more obvious to me now that my prayers need to be generous and they need to consider so much more than my needs and wants. The memories of that toy refrigerator continue to give me hope to this day that what I am asking of God in the name of so many others will be given in His time. There is no “time” in eternity. God has perfect timing.

And so, I pray for the St. Gianna Center, for our loyal staff and board of directors, our practitioners and our interns. I pray for all of our clients, especially for those who are suffering the unthinkable and those who suffer with infertility. I give great thanks for those who have achieved a pregnancy and those whose daily life has been improved because of our services. I pray for the future success and growth of our Center and I pray for all of you who so generously help to support us.

I pray that each and all will find your “toy refrigerator” under the tree this year.

Merry Christmas, may it be your BEST Christmas EVER, until the next one!