First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs puts on an annual Christmas concert called Christmas Joy! (It’s possible this page will be taken down by the time the blog posts…) It has grown into a bodacious affair, held at the Pikes Peak Center, a 2500-seat auditorium downtown. We attended in 2022 and 2023 and hadn’t really planned to go this year, but our oldest son, Mark, wanted to go with his daughter, Kesley.

So I bought four tickets. Then June fell. While in the hospital, learning to get around with a walker, June said, “I’d sure like to go to Christmas Joy.” That was Monday, December 9. The concert was Sunday, December 15, and our tickets were in the balcony for the 1:30 performance.

I spent a frustrating hour on LiveChat with AXS, trying to exchange two tickets for handicap seating. Absolutely no success. That conversation ended with “Someone will get back to you in 3-5 days.” (At the time, the concert was in 4 days, and I still haven’t heard back from AXS.) In the meantime, Mark gave me the name and email address of the fellow in charge of ticketing for the Pikes Peak Center. He responded right away, explaining that there were no handicap seats available.

Fast-forward to Sunday. It’s 12:20p, and June and I are having lunch. Someone is coming to sit with June while I go to the concert. Text from Mark: “I have two handicap tickets for Christmas Joy. Can you get her there?” A neighbor was already on tap to walk the dog around 3p while I was to be gone. I called him, and he came over right away, walked the dog, and helped me get June into the car. (It’s 17 steps DOWN from our main level to the garage, and she hadn’t been out since coming home from the hospital the previous Monday.)

I had a fuzzy idea how we would coordinate with Mark at the Pikes Peak Center for dropping off June at the handicap entrance, parking the car, meeting inside, etc. But it all worked! Timing, seating, everything. It was a fabulous concert, very heartwarming, and I’m thankful June was able to go. A Christmas miracle! That she was already suitably dressed, that Mark found the tickets at the last minute on the AXS resale site, that our neighbor was available to help (loading and unloading). Praise God for small blessings. Here we are in the lobby after.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9.15, NIV)