Jenny loved Christmas. She loved it because everyone around her made it special. Her grandparents, her great Aunt Jackie, her aunts, and especially me. She loved our Christmas decorations. She loved everything about that special time of year.

Once, when her dad and I had a holiday work function and she and her brother were old enough to stay home, they got into the Christmas boxes I brought up from the basement. While we were gone, they set to work. It was a particularly stressful time for her dad at work and she knew he was feeling low. When we arrived home, we walked into a Christmas wonderland. The house was dark except for Christmas lights and candles. Christmas music was playing on the stereo. What a way to lighten the heart. They were proud and so excited for us to view their surprise. I’ll never forget that night.

When her first Christmas in heaven came around and I knew she would be missing all the festivities, I could hardly withstand the pain. There would be no parties for her. There would be no special Christmas Eve or day with her family. Her gifts would be missing under the tree. She would never have a Christmas again. Was the birth of Jesus celebrated in heaven? Would she have a different kind of Christmas?

What could I give Jenny? I thought about many things, and I did make a donation to MADD. I would hang her stocking and put a yellow rose in it. It didn’t seem like enough. I remembered when I wrote a song to put in her casket. So, one night as her dad lay curled up on the couch next to me, and I looked at our sparsely decorated small tree, I thought about what a Christmas in heaven might be like. This was her Christmas gift in 1994. It’s still in a Christmas card in her stocking.