Although the stores were filled with Christmas displays, and neighbors had beautiful ornaments on their splendid trees, the anticipation of a wondrous Christmas was not to be ours. 

Normally, the season was always very happy for us. We got together with our neighbors and had a grand time. Howard and I would go to each neighbor's home for a Round Robin on Christmas Eve. In one house we would dine on ham and potatoes, then drink eggnog at another neighbor's house, and finish up with exchanging presents at yet another's home. It was a lot of fun, but now that wasn't to be.

We had come to the somber conclusion that because of our serious ailments, back problems, etc. we were seriously behind in paying our bills. First, I had to quit work at forty because of how ill I felt, and then a month later, my husband was laid off from his job, as a photojournalist. He loved his work, and was very good at it. The company wasn't doing well and had to terminate quite a number of employees. To say we were crushed was an understatement. My heart sank when Howard came home with the news. I had never seen him look so forlorn.

The company gave him two week's severance pay, but that would only stretch so far.

The color was gone from his face, and he looked like he was about to collapse. I helped him to the sofa and asked what was wrong. When he told me, I thought I would collapse myself.

What did we do to deserve this?  I asked God for an answer, but He was silent. I thought the answer would come because God had always been there before, but not this time.

Please, I begged Him, don't let us lose our home.

I really tried to think of something that we had done that would make this such an awful time for us, but I couldn't think of anything.

"What are we going to do, Howard?" I asked him, fearing his answer, but he had no reply either, which was even worse. Tears welled up in his eyes. I comforted him as best I could, but I was hurting, too. We had to pay our mortgage and other bill payments were late. We barely got by as it was. We didn't even have immediate family or friends that could help us out. My 91-year-old mom was on a very limited income and my sister, who lived in another state, wasn't close to me at all, emotionally or geographically. I knew she wouldn't help us even if I asked her.

We were faced with the prospect of having to sell our Staten Island home, where we lived at the time. It had been ours for ten years, and now we might lose it.

Howard and I loved our bright, cozy little house. It wasn't fancy, but it was comfortable and everyone loved it, too. We used to have gatherings there with our neighbors every few months. Over the years they were so sweet and nice. We really enjoyed going over to their houses, too. We tried to hide our sadness at the idea of moving away, but it must have shown, because one day our neighbor Pauline called to invite Howard and me to her house for a party.

"Gee, I told Howard, I'm not really up to being with everybody," I said with a sigh and tears threatening to fall. We did agree to go, so we had no choice.

Howard kissed me on the cheek and said, "I know, Susie, but maybe we'll feel better. They are close to us, and will understand if we're not too talkative."

Getting ready for the gathering, I tried to be more festive, but even as I donned my prettiest dress and put on my make-up, I didn't feel happy. The tears that had threatened to fall earlier that day, now fell without hesitation. I took a tissue and wiped my eyes before Howard could see how unhappy I was. He knew though.

He always seemed to know how I was feeling, sometimes even before I did. The depth of my sadness was totally obvious, and he was completely despondent, also.

Finally ready, we got to Pauline's house, which was down the block. All of our neighbors were there.

"Susie and Howard," she said with a smile and hugs, "this party is in your honor. We have taken up a collection for you to help you stay in your home. You both deserve much happiness."

She handed us a sealed envelope. Once again, tears spilled down my cheeks and Howard tried hard to blink his own tears back. After all, grown men weren't supposed to cry, that's what he had been told. We were stunned and could barely say thank you, but we did and we had a group hug.

After recovering from the surprise, I did manage to say rather embarrassed, "Gee, how can we take charity from all of you?" We had never had to get help from other people's kindness.

"Oh, it's not charity, one of the other neighbors assured us. "It's because your Friendship is so important to everyone, and we don't want you leaving here."

Overjoyed, we hugged each other again. What a wonderful group of friends we had made. We knew that someday we would pay them back for their generous outpouring. It warmed our hearts to see how self-sacrificing they were in our time of trouble.

Fortunately, we managed to get back on our feet a few months later when Howard got another job in his field. Every month we gave them payments until it was all paid back.

Although we've since moved to Florida, we still keep in touch with our dear friends and neighbors who had helped us recover from a real hardship.

Thank you, God, you did answer our prayers and extended to us the greatest gift of all - friendship.