My friend Toby had many health problems throughout the course of his life. He was like me in that regard. When he was 12, Toby was diagnosed with cancer of the liver, and I didn't think that the two of us were going to be with each other in this world for much longer. I prayed and asked the Lord to help him, and Toby kept going long after the veterinarians said that he would. Six months later when Christmas time rolled around, Toby wasn't doing well, and I once again felt that this was the end.
Even though I was expecting the worse, Toby started to make a recovery, and when Christmas Eve came, I knew that he was once again out of the woods. That Christmas Eve, I decided to stay at home with my friend and not go to a party. I didn't know how many more days we would have together, and I wanted us to spend time together as much as possible.
That Christmas Eve, the two of us had a nice meal and we listened to some of our favorite music. We both liked classical and jazz. Toby didn't like Jazz that was too avant garde or free form.
As the evening wore on, I decided to break out my shortwave radio and see if we could find a Christmas Eve service on the BBC. We were in luck. There was a service being broadcast from one of the large cathedrals. The dean of the cathedral was about to begin his message. His message was about caring about those who God has brought into your life. It was about thanking God for the good things that you had in your life. He told us to remember God's good gifts to us during the Christmas season.
At the end of the message, the minister asked us to place our hands on someone we loved and pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for them. Without me calling him, Toby came right over to where I was and sat down right next to me. I placed my hands on him, and I thanked the Lord that the two of us were together for another Christmas season.
No matter how hard I try, I can't remember the cathedral or the name of the minister who brought that message that night. I will never forget that it was a special message at a special time when I needed to hear it the most.
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