Karen's Christmas Story Winner

Sarah from PA for "The Ring"

"The Ring" by Sarah in Pennsylvania (12/20/2007)

To this day I still remember the feeling I had when I crept down the stairs in my old two story house on Christmas morning and saw a small dark blue box nestled in the branches of my Christmas tree. It was a feeling like no other….

Approximately two years prior to that day, I had began dating a man that I had met online who at the time was oversees in Iraq serving our country in the Army. At first, I didn’t think it would ever develop into anything other than a good will mission I had signed up for through my church. Although it did sound interesting at the time, it took me over a month before I sent Mark my first correspondence.

At first, we talked about life in the military, what it was like over there, the condition of the news and so forth. Then it somehow turned into something a little more personal. We actually spent several months writing back and forth before any spark of interest began to flicker. I can remember almost perfectly the particular email he sent to me that gave me any type of real clue he was interested in getting to know me in any other way than a pen pal.

Believe it or not, I kept that particular email and still have it to remind me of him to this day. I chuckle when I think about the awkward way he went about asking me if I were involved with anyone at the time and if I would ever consider a military man for a boyfriend. I guess my response was all it took. From that point forward, it was as if we were meant to be together all of our lives. It was like he was right there beside me and not half a world away.

I smile when I think about the first time we met in person. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of me! I think he must’ve spilled half of his food on his shirt by not paying attention to what he was doing as we had dinner in a quite little restaurant just down the street from my home now. I couldn’t have felt any more special than I did that night!

Things progressed rapidly from there since he had very little time on leave. We actually spent little more than a month total together the first year because of where he was stationed and less than that his second year because of the nature of his job. It didn’t matter because I knew he was off serving our country and that what he was doing was important for the good of all mankind so I just kept the emails coming and did whatever I could to keep his spirits up until we could talk or see each other again.

Shortly before Christmas, Mark was due to come home for good. I was beside myself with excitement that he would be coming home and the two of us could begin a real relationship, but instead I received a phone call two days before he was due to arrive to let me know that during a mission that he was shot down and killed instantly.

I will never forget the words his superior officer spoke into the phone as I clung to it in hopes that I was dreaming. That none of this was happening. In fact, I actually went to the airport and waited for his flight to arrive in case they had him confused with another soldier but to no avail. The information they passed along to me had been correct.

Christmas Eve came and I sat numbly by myself in a darkened house with only the lights of the Christmas tree on to keep me company. Each time I looked at that tree in the dark, I would remember how much Mark loved Christmas and how he insisted on angels keeping watch over me during this time of year. How much the real meaning of the season meant to him. That no matter what he’d always be there for me and how he promised he would send me a sign of his love if anything bad ever happened to him.

I don’t remember how it happened but somehow I managed to make it upstairs to my bed and pass out from pure exhaustion. I remember waking up, realizing it was Christmas day and coming downstairs to put on the morning coffee when the small box caught my eye. Since I know I didn’t put the box in the limb of the tree, I crossed the room and took it out of its resting place. When I opened it up the first thing I saw was a little note. I took it out and read it and then removed the beautiful diamond ring that lay beneath the paper.

I lived by myself and knew this couldn’t have been for anyone else so curiosity got the best of me and I opened it up. Lo and behold, it was a note from Mark that said if I’d received the note that meant that he was gone home to be with the Lord and that this ring was a token of his love and adoration for me and would be something I could wear to remind me of him until we met again in Heaven.

Tears ran down my face in utter disbelief. How did the ring get into my tree and how would he have had the time to do all this without me knowing about it? Who could have done it?? It wasn’t in there the night before. At least I didn’t remember seeing it. Although it didn’t matter. All that mattered is that he was there with me that day and that the chills still run down my spine when I look at my beautiful diamond ring and think of him.