As you all know by now, my friend, Leslie Hardy, and I are working feverishly to put together a brand new celebration for the children of Lititz. It’s no small undertaking and the details to each segment are mind-boggling. We work on it every day, without exception, even it’s simply an email here and there. But here’s what I want to share with you—I feel Leslie and I are experiencing a miracle!

Yes, I said, “a miracle.” Miracles don’t have to be huge, loud, front-page stories; miracles, especially the smaller ones, happen every day—if you pay attention.

“God works in mysterious ways,” it’s been said. If you’ve read my column in the Lititz Record in years past, you’ll know that I am one who listens to Him and DOES pay attention. And while in between miracles He throws out some pretty harsh “tests,” He has given me a life filled with wonders.

When I realized that our children here in Lititz would be left without a Santa this year, I knew parents would be hard-pressed to have to explain to their children why he wouldn’t be visiting. Thankfully, we will always have our "Christmas in the Park" celebration where we all gather to light the town's Christmas tree and sing carols (a beautiful, beautiful night--DON'T miss it!) and we'll always have Supper with Santa at the Rec Center but the visits with Santa in the caboose will not be held--and that's something many children look forward to; I prayed that someone would come up with something new, something fun, to take the kids' minds off that missing tradition. And of course, He answered me, as He always does when I really, truly need Him to.

As I drifted off to sleep one night, I though about the upcoming Second Friday and how I’d be working, what I’d do, all rambling “before-drifting-off-to-sleep” thoughts. Then it happened; why not do a “Second Friday” type of Christmas event for the kids but have it during the day, all day? Of course!

That’s how it began.

After presenting the idea (and a few details) to the Kiwanis and to a group of town representatives from the service organizations, the Park Board, the VFW, schools, and many other reps, my idea was received most positively. My dream was that everyone, everywhere in Lititz, would open their hearts and offer to help. I would NOT, I decided, ask for money; I wanted people to actually FEEL the TRUE Christmas spirit. As I sat in that meeting, hands were raised by every representative at that long table; “My club will take care of Santa’s mailbox,” one said quickly. “We’ll take care of the carriage rides,” another offered. And so it went, all around until I thought my heart would burst with happiness. My miracle was unfolding.

It was going to work. But now, where, how, to coordinate it all?

Leslie Hardy, a fellow Kiwanian, was my first thought. It was she, who, immediately after joining our club, offered to take on anything Christmas-related. I had found my partner! After explaining my plan to her, we got busy contacting those people who had already spoken up and made a list of others we’d need to contact immediately. Leslie drew up a spreadsheet from which we continue to work, changing it frequently so we know exactly where we stand with everything.

After the article in the Lititz Record came out, calls started coming in. “How can I help? What can I do?” With every email, every call, the miracle continues to grow. People really ARE filled with the Christmas spirit of giving.

Lititz Springs Park Board has reached out to us, offering the train station as our hub of activities for our event and has offered to have Santa’s Mailbox located right by the train station so the little ones can find it easily and the Lititz Lions Club has taken on the huge task of monitoring it. The Park Board has also, most generously, offered to let us put a live nativity in the park. The Kiwanis Club of the Lititz Area offered to help us monetarily in the circumstances where we simply HAD no choice and are also supporting us every step of the way, always acting as our “cheerleaders.” An anonymous benefactor gave us 100 Lititz Shopping Dollars to give as a prize for the “Name that Event” contest that we held and Café Chocolate, besides being an actual participant in the event, has offered a wonderful prize for our “Guess How Many” contest. Venture Lititz is backing us all the way in several aspects, which is greatly appreciated. Bill Dussinger of Pennylane Graphics has voluntarily created our logo, which is absolutely beautiful! A lovely lady I met several years ago, Melissa Landis, emailed us and offered her extraordinary organizational skills, which we jumped at; she is now our Director of Entertainment at our Linden Hall location. Yesterday I met with another new member of our tiny team, Sam Travers, who will be our Master of Ceremonies at Linden Hall AND will be creating a Christmas gingerbread house contest that will be located in the Lititz Museum. The list of people helping us AND wanting TO help goes on and on now.

Miracles DO come in all shapes and sizes…