My husband always said that Christmas was his favorite time of year. When he began serving two United Methodist Churches as a part-time local pastor, he still held down his teaching job with the ROTC Department of Andalusia High School.

His enthusiasm for Christmas never wavered, despite his heavy schedule and long weekend drives to his churches. Ten years later, he began full-time ministry, serving 13 years at Lillian United Methodist Church.

I recall one Christmas season he and several other men from the Lillian church built a large star covered with aluminum foil, placed lights on it, and mounted it on the church grounds. I think they all got electrical shocks constructing it, but felt it was worth the effort. The star was visible at night to motorists traveling on Highway 98 and attracted a lot of attention.

Another year, they put luminaries out front on Christmas Eve, leading the way to the annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion service. Everyone was welcome and people from various denominations looked forward to it as much as the church members. It was extra special to me the times I shared a pew with our two children and their families.

Some years after he began his fulltime ministry serving the Lillian church, I started saving church bulletins and monthly newsletters. I recently found a newsletter dated Dec. 1, 1991. In “The Pastor’s Corner,” he expressed how he felt about Christmas: “For me, the Christmas Season is the best time of the year! I do believe that there is more love, more concern, more giving, and more helping folk during the Christmas Season than any other time of the year. I like the lights and the tinsel; I like the music and the carolers; the crowds with happy faces; the cool nights at the mall; pink baby cheeks; and youngsters running this way and that with a sparkle in their eyes.

“There is joy at Christmas, more joy than this world can hold, for Christmas spills over into anger, sadness, loneliness, sadness, and selfishness, and brings joy, peace, happiness and concern for others. Oh, I believe with all of my heart that God really did it up right when He gave us the Savior of the world, His son, Jesus the Christ, at Christmas. Don’t tell me that there are too many lights, too much commercialism, too much noise. You can’t turn on enough lights, or blow the trumpet loud enough to suit me when it comes to celebrating our Lord’s birthday. Even the Grinch found out what Christmas is all about ... when he learned that Christmas joy is not dependent on getting presents, he repented and discovered the meaning of Christmas for himself.”

This will be our family’s third Christmas without the man who loved Christmas. We all still feel his loss greatly. We know that he would want no tears, but for us to celebrate “the best time of the year.”

Nina Keenam is a former resident of Baldwin County and Staff Writer for The Foley Onlooker.