It was bitter cold last Christmas Eve, and I felt bad having a warm house, and knowing there were people who didn’t have homes to keep them warm.
It was almost midnight when I got an emergency telephone call about a young family with three kids, who didn’t have heat.
I couldn’t stay home knowing that could have been us. I got to the house, and all three kids were under six. I knew there was no way to get the parts that were needed that night, but I couldn’t let them home alone on Christmas Eve, with no heat. I told the husband I had to go out to the service van and pick up a few things. While out there, I called my wife. I explained about the family and how it was impossible to get their furnace fixed until the day after Christmas. I didn’t need to say anymore. She said to pack them up and bring them over. She was going to fix up the spare room for the husband and wife, and the kids could bunk with ours. While her husband and I packed Christmas gifts in the service van, his wife packed up the kids and all the food they had for Christmas dinner. It was funny how quickly we bonded and became friends. All because of a broken furnace, we found our best friends that night. Our kids grew up together, and that Christmas was the best we ever had. When they left two days later, the furnace was working well again, but it was a Christmas I will never forget.