The Heart of Christmas

Not often does a movie come along that touches both my husband and myself!  Tonight we were flipping through the channels trying to find something worth wild to watch.  We settled on the UP channel.  They were showing some interesting Christmas movies.  Normally my husband doesn't like them, but this one caught our eye because Candice Cameron Bure was in it.  So we started watching, The Heart of Christmas.  The story is so touching and heartwarming.  Just a word of warning, make sure you have a box of tissues handy!

The movie is based on a true story.  It is the story of Dax Locke and his family as they walk through life after Dax is diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.  Dax was only 15 months old when he was diagnosed.  I cannot even imagine how his parents felt that day they found out.  If you have been a reader of mine for any length of time you are aware of the struggles we have had with our children.  But nothing, I mean nothing compares to what they went through. 

As they went through the rollercoaster ride of treatments at St. Jude Children's hospital, Julie Locke kept a journal on Caringbridge about their journey.  Because of that journal many lives were changed.  As a matter of fact a whole community was changed.  A neighbor Megan's (Candace Cameron Bure's character) family was living life just going through the motions.  They hardly ever connected as a family any longer.  Like so many families out there they were just too busy for this and that.  So on Halloween she runs out to quickly take her son trick-or-treating.  She stepped outside only to see the neighborhood lit up for Christmas.  She asks neighbors what it was all about.  She is then given a card with Julie Locke's blog information on it.  The Locke's realize one night that Dax will not live to see Christmas.  So late one night Dax's father decorates the house for Christmas.  They decide to give him the last Christmas he deserves.

Isn't is often tragedies in life that bring us back to the things that matter.  I think families like Megan's are all too common in the world today.  Parents so caught up in working to provide a "good" life for their kids they miss the kids' life.  I highly recommend this movie!! 

Psalm 90:12
"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." was listed in a journal entry.  We are not guaranteed a tomorrow.  What we do with today is what matters.  Are you so worried about tomorrow you forget what is in front of you today?  If so perhaps it is time you re-evaluate your priorities in life.