Recently my husband and I were blessed with free tickets to a Christmas event. To my surprise this event had one of my favorite singers from the past, Gloria Estefan. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time. On March 20, 1990, Gloria's tour bus was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler during a snowstorm, leaving her with injuries that doctors said would leave her unable to walk or dance again. Miraculously, after many surgeries, months of therapy and a lot of prayer, she recovered. Listen some time to her inspirational song she wrote during this time, "Coming Out of the Dark." The title was inspired by a phrase her husband had written on a piece of paper as a helicopter transported her for delicate surgery to repair her broken back.
Last night we were privileged to see Gloria read the Christmas story of the account of Jesus's birth as recorded in the Bible. She narrated the Christmas concert with her beautiful, deep Latino voice. She commented how she had always longed to narrate this event and how blessed she was to be there. You could see the joy on her face as the choirs surrounded her singing all the traditional Christmas carols along with the sweet sounds of a full symphonic orchestra that was staged in front of her. It was all culminated by a standing ovation honoring the Hallelujah Chorus! Honoring the King of Kings!
My kudos to you today: No matter how dark the night, look for the light. Celebrate the real meaning of Christmas. We all love a good story with a happy ending. Gloria's story had a happy ending, but it required much to get there. When we allow ourselves to live in this attitude asking for help from the source of all light, Jesus, it will come back to us in some form. The adventurous part is never knowing how it will come back, but God surprises us with blessings no matter how random they may seem. The tickets that allowed us to see the concert may seem like a small thing to some, but I could sense His light shining on us. Thank you, God, for saving Gloria's life. She is still inspiring others today to come out of the dark and walk in the light of your love.
And when they saw the star they rejoiced with great joy. Matthew 2:10
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Lovely to read your vision of this day and how we can be blessed with encouraging stories from others.