Puppet Master

Holly didn’t feel like going home. It had been a long time since she’d been to a church. The last memories of going to church were when she had gone with her grandmother for Christmas services and sometimes on Easter. She was feeling in the Christmas spirit and a little braver than usual. It had been a long day at work and she was exhausted from working on several marketing projects. I didn’t feel quite right, going home to an empty house because she knew she’d feel lonely when she got home.

She drove down several streets and found a medium-sized church. The sign in the front of the church building said, “Join Us Tonight - Christmas Service!” She decided she would stop by. She parked her car and got out and started walking up to the front of the church entrance. She was greeted by a wiry woman at the front door who was extremely enthusiastic about offering her hot cocoa and peppermint sticks. Some others near the entrance introduced themselves. One woman started talking about all the different programs that they had for various age groups at the church. She noticed that several of the church members kept referring to the pastor. It seemed like they had such high respect for him, almost too much Holly thought to herself.

She didn’t want to be rude so she followed the small posse of people into the main sanctuary area. Everyone was decked out in either elf costumes or reindeer costumes. There wasn’t a single person not dressed up except Holly. They offered her an outfit but she kindly refused. Everything looked beautiful. There were Christmas lights from corner to corner in every room. Snowflakes dangled from the ceilings. There were gingerbread stations with clusters of people that were hard at work constructing them. There were Christmas trees everywhere. Holly turned and she almost ran into one in one of the trees in one of the hallways.

Everyone seemed happy…almost too happy. The sanctuary had a fake snow machine that was blowing snow on people as they walked in. The service was about to start, so the lights dimmed and people settled down into their seats. The pastor came in, dressed in a white suit with a red handkerchief poking out the front chest pocket. He was smiling, but it felt like a painfully fake smile. Holly shifted in her seat uncomfortably. The audience applauded like he was a famous celebrity when he walked in. Everything felt like a game show of sorts. There was a wheel on the right side of the room that they spun for people to win prizes, Christmas gift bags, gift cards, and other accessories. The crowd seemed to be feeding off of the pastor's excitement and dramatic hype.

Holly wondered why there was no prayer said by anyone. Did they still sing Christmas carols in churches she wondered. Then the pastor started talking about all the accomplishments in the year, reviewing all that they had accomplished as a group of people. It certainly seemed like there was a brand name of sorts to this church. There was a competition between other churches in the local area it seemed. How odd this all seemed to Holly, having not been to church in quite a long time. The pastors started giving accolades to several different leaders that were in the congregation for different things that they had done throughout the year. He praised the people for all their hard work on their outfits and the decorations in the church. Seemingly, there were a lot of new ministries that they had started. There was a quilting ministry, a foodie ministry, a singles-mingle ministry, and a motorcycle club. He seemed very proud of all their accomplishments and everything that they had done to help the local community. Holly looked around the room, wondering why there was no nativity scene. When she was a kid she always liked seeing the nativity scene the most.

The pastor motioned to a band with a flick of his hand, signaling for them to come up on the stage. They quickly responded and started playing the song "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Holly started feeling more and more uncomfortable. She felt dizzy, like she was about to pass out in her chair. The music started droning like a horror movie and she felt like she was suffocating. Her head nodded downward but then she jerked her head up. Everyone in the audience was looking back at her but their eyes had all changed into black beady marbles. They all started singing the lyrics to the song, "All I want for Christmas is you, baby..." She panicked, dropping the rest of her hot cocoa. Her ears were ringing and she felt like all the air had been zapped completely from her lungs. "Lord, get me out of here..."she gasped, as she attempted to stand up to leave.

Before she could leave the sanctuary, a bright light blinded her. She felt her body go limp and it felt as if she was being held in the air. Oddly, there was not crippling fear in her mind though because she did not see the black piercing eyes anymore. She could have sworn that she was flying through galaxies, at the speed of light. Then, in a flash she was sitting in her car in the parking lot of the church. She looked out the car window but there was no one there in sight. Quickly turning the car on, she left the church parking lot. Still feeling shaken up, Holly tried to breath deeply.

She drove home, trying not to speed along the way. Her heart was still racing. That was a terrible idea to go there she thought to herself as she pulled into her parking garage. She went inside her house and turned all the lights on, checking all the corners for anything out of place, or anyone. She opened her front door and noticed something on her front porch. It was a small nativity set and there was a Christmas card taped to baby Jesus. Looking around, she didn't see anyone in sight. Shakily opening the Christmas card, it had the following verse written in it, which said:

“ 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.' (Matthew 1:23)”

It was signed, "Merry Christmas! Your neighbor across the street - Faith"

Holly sighed and started crying because of her neighbors act of kindness. Bringing the nativity set inside, she set it up in her living room. Peace filled her heart. Smiling joyfully, she felt a calm presence like never before. She called her neighbor, Faith, to thank her for the gift and card. She invited her over for some hot cider and Christmas cookies.