My Gift to You: A Broken Down Holiday
Merry Christmas! As my gift to you this holiday season, I wanted to share with you the story of my newest story, A Broken Down Holiday: One Mother's Journey to Finding Christmas Again.
Enjoy listening and have a joyful season.
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Transcription
You can find a partial transcription of today's episode here. The actual transcription of the story is copyrighted, and you can purchase it on my website.
Tamara Anderson 0:03
I have a special gift for you today it is the week of Christmas. And for the last month or so I've been promoting a new booklet that I just came out with called A Broken Down Holiday. And today I'm going to share with you the audio version of that story so that you can enjoy it and have a marvelous Christmas. Stay tuned.
Tamara Anderson 0:32
Welcome to Stories of Hope in Hard times, the show that explores how people endure and even thrive in difficult times. All with God's help. I'm your host Tamara K Anderson. Join me on a journey to find inspiring stories of hope and wisdom learned in life's hardest moments.
Tamara Anderson 0:57
Hello, and welcome to the Stories of Hope in Hard Times podcast. I'm your host Tamara K. Anderson. And on today's episode, I am sharing with you the audio version of my new book A Broken Down Holiday: One Mother's Journey to Finding Christmas Again. And I'm so excited to give you this gift this holiday season. Thank you for being an amazing supporter of my podcast. Thank you for sharing hope. Thank you for building your hope. And coming on this journey with me. I appreciate you. And Merry Christmas!
Tamara Anderson 1:34
Dedication to my mother in law Judy Cromar. Thank you for allowing me to share the basis of your inspirational story and for opening your in and welcoming me into your family. I have often wondered how I would have felt in those circumstances. This is the story of those thoughts.
Tamara Anderson 1:56
Forty-eight years ago, I was widowed at twenty-three with an eight month old baby boy. It was a shock when my husband David was diagnosed with non Hodgkins lymphoma. At nothing prepared me for losing him just a few months later, watching David succumb so quickly and die so young, was one of the most soul wrenching experiences in my life. T
Tamara Anderson 2:22
he ensuing grief almost drowned me. When I had first heard David's grim prognosis I held on to faith with all my heart. Surely God would grant us a miracle. He could heal David. But now, my faith seemed in vain. And I was angry at God for taking my beloved husband. That sense of betrayal, coupled with the devastating loneliness day in and out, made me want to give up. Life without David was a struggle. But I had a baby who needed me. And I knew I had to keep going to move forward, not for me. But for our little son Andy. His life was still full of potential, even though my dreams were shattered.
Tamara Anderson 3:17
With David gone, I was panicked about the future because the prospect I had imagined of a husband providing for our family had just been ripped from my life. I had social security benefits, but I knew I needed to construct a different destiny, where I could provide for myself and Andy.
Tamara Anderson 3:40
Within a few weeks of David's passing, I went back to school. It was a daunting task to juggle babysitting classes, and grieving at the same time. I cried myself to sleep many nights before, during and after homework. My first Christmas without David approached, and an icy coldness permeated my Christmas spirit. I didn't have the emotional strength to deal with the merry holiday. And he was just over a year old and wouldn't know the difference if he missed the festivities. Instead of celebrating Christmas that year. I opted to stay put in my apartment and ask family and friends to leave us alone and let the holiday pass. I needed to be able to cry and be sad without an audience and the expectation to be happy. Another year passed in a blur of school and grief while I lived life on autopilot.
Tamara Anderson 4:42
But as the holidays neared a spark of guilt flared in my heart. If only for Andy sake, it was time to go home to Eugene, Oregon to be with my family for Christmas. It was time to try to resurrect my Christmas spirit.
Tamara Anderson 5:01
At the rideshare board at my university I found a driver heading to Eugene the day before Christmas. I contacted the couple and even paid in advance so I could be guaranteed a spot on this drive home.
Tamara Anderson 5:14
On Christmas Eve morning, an old rusty blue station wagon pulled up. I wondered if this clunker had all of its parts. It didn't look as if it could go another 20 miles, let alone over 800 But This ride was my only way home and the two couples in the car seemed nice enough company to travel with. So I climbed onto the worn stained seat behind the driver and tucked my two year old son beside me. dirty snow line the highway but the mountains around us were frosted and perfect white.
Tamara Anderson 5:50
After 20 minutes of driving it became apparent the heater wasn't working. And my fingertips nose and toes began to feel the frigid icy ness of the December weather. I folded my son into my green wool double breasted pea coat to keep us both warm. The heater wasn't the only thing malfunctioning. The old car drove slower than other cars on the road and the occasional noise from the engine ominously for both impending doom. As darkness fell, my anxiety increased. We were hours behind schedule and should have been to our destination by now.
(To read the rest of the story, you can purchase it at: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/broken-down)
Tamara Anderson 23:17
My friends, are you looking for a meaningful Christmas gift this year? If so, you need look no further I have a fantastic, sweet short story. I am so excited to share with you my new booklet it's called a broken down holiday. This is the story of a widowed young mother trying to travel home for the holidays soon after her husband dies, and being stranded in the middle of nowhere. And some of the hard things that she experiences and some of the miracles that you wouldn't think are miracles that she had happen, that it is based on a true story that happened to my mother in law. It's great for those friends that you're just like, what do I get them something simple. That's under five bucks. It's a great stocking stuffer. So if you want to share this message of hope with your friends or family members, check it out a broken down holiday on Tamra K anderson.com.
Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's show. If you like what you heard, subscribe so you can get your weekly dose of powerful stories of hope. I know there are many of you out there who are going through a hard time and I hope you found useful things that you can apply to your own life in today's podcast. If you'd like to access the show notes of today's show, please visit my website stories of hope podcast.com. There you will find a summary of today's show, the transcript and one of my favorite takeaways. You know if someone kept coming to mind during today's episode, perhaps that means that you should share this This episode with them. Maybe there was a story shared or quote, or a scripture verse that they really, really need to hear. So go ahead and share this podcast. May God bless you, especially if you are struggling with hope to carry on and the strength to keep going. When things get tough. Remember to walk with Christ and He will help you bear the burden. And above all else, remember, God loves you!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai