As some of us prepare for a Christmas with friends and family, let’s not forget the reason for the season. We compiled some of our favorite real-life Christmas miracles, each of them a reminder that amazing things can happen during this time of year, no matter the circumstances.
Here are ten miraculous Christmas stories to keep you and your loved ones in the Christmas spirit.
1. The Christmas Basket That Kept on Giving
Christmas was going to be a struggle for Connie Casares that year. A single mom with two teenagers, she had to work two part-time jobs while also taking college courses at night. She hardly had the money for Christmas dinner and presents. So when she got home one night to a beautiful Christmas basket on her porch, it felt like a gift from heaven. The stuff of Christmas miracles. But who sent it? There was no card. And should she accept it? Especially when so many other members of her family were worse off than her… Read the miracle of Connie’s Christmas basket here.
2. A Christmas Eve Coincidence Saves a Life
Every year, Roberta Messner looked forward to her friend’s Christmas Eve party. But that year she was late. She worked as a nurse in the ICU and a new nurse had asked if Roberta could cover her Christmas Eve shift. She almost said no but a voice inside told her over and over to take the shift. Roberta worked the extra shift and showed up to the party at midnight, just as guests were leaving. Why did I even bother coming this late? she thought. Suddenly, a screamed pierced through the night. “Help!” someone shouted. Read about Roberta’s Christmas coincidence here.
3. My Sister’s Last Christmas Gift
After her sister died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm, Judith Preston didn’t know how she would make it through Christmas without her. Then one night, Judith had the strangest dream. She saw a pair of earrings — thin, hand-forged hoops and dangling, delicate chains, all in shimmering gold. It was so vivid, Judith knew the dream must mean something. Was this her sister’s way of communicating with her? The thought was as confusing as it was comforting. Why these earrings that she had never seen before? Read Judith’s incredible dream story here.
4. Two Christmas Miracle Rescues
Judy Zwirblis comes from a family of rescuers. One of her sons is in the Army, the other in the Coast Guard. Her father was in the Navy and then the Coast Guard, where he led dangerous air search and rescue missions for lost mariners. Her family has dozens of tales of close calls and miraculous rescues. But one stands out above them all – the one in December of 1954, a week before Christmas. And this wasn’t just one rescue. It was two. One was a sinking ship. The other was a girl who fell through the ice. And her family had no idea there was a divine connection between them. Read Judy’s incredible Christmas rescue story here.
5. A Special Delivery
Nadine Colgan flipped through her Christmas catalog. She searched for the perfect gift for her neighbor, who had been so kind and helpful after Nadine’s husband had passed. As she flipped, she stopped on a picture of a mustached man in a gray bowler hat on the cover of a six-volume boxed set of DVDs. Hercule Poirot. He had been her husband’s favorite. She loved watching him watch the show, always on the edge of his seat. Nadine sighed and ordered a comfy sweatshirt for her neighbor. But when the package arrived, it wasn’t the gift she had been expecting… Read about Nadine’s unexpected gift here.
6. The Star That Saved Christmas
Crime-scene investigator Craig Johnson had hoped it would be a quiet Christmas Eve, but at midnight he got a call to come to a robbery scene. He found a couple in tears, their children still sleeping. Their home had been robbed and every gift was gone. “We saved all year for those gifts,” the husband said to Craig. “If there’s anything you can do…” Craig wasn’t sure. The robber had been thorough, leaving no fingerprints. After checking everything, there was nothing more he could do. “I’m sorry,” he said, heading for the door. Then something caught his eye. A gold glint behind the front door… something that proved there are indeed Christmas miracles. Read about Craig’s Christmas crime scene miracle here.
7. Christmas Without Chris
After her son Chris’ sudden death, Diann Seelbach and her husband weren’t sure how to spend their first Christmas without him. Should they spend it at home or take a trip? Then one day her husband found something: a Detroit Tigers baseball cap. Chris had worn it often, but it had gone missing after his death. They took it as a sign they should travel for the holidays. Chris would want that. Diann booked a cruise and they decided to bring the baseball cap along, so they could have a piece of Chris with them. But they never expected the cap to go missing again during the flight home. Would they be able to find this priceless memento again? Read about Diann’s heaven-sent miracle here.
8. Lost on the Night Before Christmas
Genevieve Cliff was driving home late at night from a Christmas Eve party. She reached her freeway exit to find it blocked off. She’d have to find an alternate route, but this was the only way she knew to get home. She took the next exit and ended up in an empty shopping mall parking lot. No GPS. No cell phone. No one around to ask for directions. And her fuel tank was almost empty. Genevieve shut off the engine and put her head on the steering wheel. “I hope what I heard about Christmas miracles is true,” she said. “I need one right now.” All of a sudden, she felt a bright light shine on her. Read about Genevieve’s miraculous light here.
9. Christmas in the Parking Lot
Rochella O’Neil and her mom had a Christmas tradition: sharing a Hershey’s chocolate bar. She couldn’t remember how the tradition started, but it was her favorite. After her mom died, Rochella wasn’t sure she should keep up the tradition. At the grocery store, she debated stopping by the candy aisle, but it didn’t feel right without her mom. After putting her groceries in the car, she sat for a moment in the driver seat. Lord, I sure wish I could feel Mom close by this Christmas season, she prayed. Let her know I love her and that I hope to see her again someday. She glanced out her rearview mirror to leave when her eyes caught something… Read the rest Rochella’s chocolate story here.
10. A Christmas Miracle for the Kids
Every December Peggy King’s club throws a Christmas party for the special needs children of a local residential school. Peggy loved dressing up as an elf and passing out gifts with Santa. They had exactly 40 presents to give–enough for the children they usually expected. But not enough for the 60 they’d just heard would be coming. It’s too late to buy more, Peggy thought. Lord, what are we supposed to do now? They needed the real Santa to show up, but would he? Were there such thing as Christmas miracles? Read Peggy’s about present miracle here.