Authors: Richard Paul Evans
Finding Noel (30 page)
I was afraid of how Macy would view Christmas after losing Joette on that day, but my fear was unjustified. The day only became more holy to her, as it was the day Joette was reunited with her little angel. Every Christmas Eve we light two candles, one for Joette and one for Angela. Macy places them close together so their flames become one.
There are stories, Christmas stories that are stored away like boxes of garlands and frosted glass ornaments, to be
brought out and cherished each year. I've come to believe that my story is a Christmas story. For it has forever changed the way I see Christmas.
That season I learned perspective, for Joseph the carpenter and Stuart the auto mechanic both raised someone else's son. We don't know much about Joseph; the Bible tells us little. But I've gained a new respect for the man.
Just like our story, the original Christmas tales were stories of searching, not so much for the lost, as for the familiar. Mary and Joseph sought in Bethlehemâthe home of their familial ancestryâa place to start their own family; the three kings from the East journeyed beneath that sentinel star to find the King of Kings; and the shepherds sought a child in a place most familiar to them: a manger.
And perhaps after all the songs and poems and stories of the season, Christmas is really no more than thatâhumanity's search for the familiar. Every year we bring out the same songs, partake of the same foods and traditions, and share the things that make us feel that there's someplace we belong. And in the end all any of us are looking for is home.
ABOUT THE AUTHORRichard Paul Evans is the author of ten
New York Times
bestselling novels and five children's books. He has won the American Mothers' Book Award, the
Romantic Times
2005 Best Women's Fiction award and two first-place Storytelling World Awards for his children's books. His books have been translated into more than eighteen languages. More than 13 million copies of his books are in print worldwide. Evans is also the founder of the Christmas Box House International, an organization dedicated to helping abused and neglected children. More than 13,000 children have been housed in Christmas Box Houses. He is the recipient of the
Washington Times
Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America Empathy Award. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife and five children.
Visit Richard Paul Evan's Web site and join his e-mail list for free reading group discussion guides, book and tour updates, and special offers:
Please send written correspondence to
Richard Paul Evans
P.O. Box 1416
Salt Lake City, Utah 84110
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