The Pastor’s Piece – Pastor Kevin Cernek, FCFI Chaplain

FCFI

December 7, 2025

Well, I would say we are fully into the Christmas season. It seems like we’re never quite ready for it when it arrives and by the time the season is over, it’s time.

One of my favorite memories of Christmas as an adult was shortly after my wife and I were married and we spent Christmas together in Arizona. 80 degree weather, palm trees, and cactus in December were new to us. It was a very enjoyable experience.

Another Christmas I will always remember was when we bought a new-to-us Z-28 Camaro five days before Christmas and drove 30 hours straight through from Arizona to Wisconsin to get home for Christmas. We started at 5:00 o’clock in the evening after work and drove through the night, stopping only for gas. It was invigorating. We went from our old car that had a 250 cubic inch inline six cylinder pooch to a 350 V-8 with plenty of power and loud, legal exhaust. By sunrise we were approaching Amarillo, Texas. I remember watching the sun come up over Amarillo as we sped along the highway (“Amarillo By Morning”).

And yet another time, we flew home. It was 24 below on Christmas Eve that year. We were staying at my brother and sister-in-law’s place in Lena as they were out of town for some reason. They were kind enough to loan us their spare car – a well-worn hand-me-down Mercury Comet. At about midnight, on our way from Martintown,WI to Lena, IL (a 12 mile jaunt) under the light of a near full moon, at about the half-way point, the battery light came on. Oh-oh. Did I mention it was 24 below and this was before cell-phones? We could either turn around or keep going. It was six to one, half a dozen to the other. We opted to keep going. My wife fully expected we would meet our demise that night – in the worst imaginable way to her – death by freezing. It wasn’t looking like a very merry Christmas at this point.

Unfortunately, it got worse. A short while after the alternator light came on, the engine began to sputter and stall from lack of spark from a dead battery. I knew the heater fan drew a lot of voltage so the first thing I did, much to my wife’s horror, was shut it off. Immediately the car stopped sputtering. Win! But that didn’t last. A minute later the car started missing and bucking again. This time, I tried shutting the headlights off and, what do you know? – It worked. The moon was bright enough so we could see the road without them.

So we hurtled through the frigid darkness without heat and without headlights, praying and hoping we’d make it. We made it all the way to the north edge of town when I saw police lights flashing in the rear-view mirror. For once, and for the first time in my life, I was happy to get pulled over by the police. When the officer came to the window he fully expected to find an inebriated driver without a clue. And I didn’t care if he hauled us off to jail, at least we’d be warm … and alive. But I explained our dilemma and he was very kind and gave us a police escort to the house – lights flashing and all. He waited while we parked the car. Then we waved to him, and as he drove away he announced over the loudspeaker for everyone to hear: “Merry Christmas!”

Lesson learned: Spend the money and rent your own car.

Finally, one Christmas I was bedridden with pneumonia. I had spent the day before Christmas in the emergency room hooked up to IV’s. The doctor made me promise if he sent me home, I’d stay in and take it easy. I gave him my word. We always had a big Christmas tradition of going to my wife’s grandparents on the 24th. My wife offered to stay home and nurse me along, but all I planned to do was sleep so I convinced her to take the children and go without me. She finally consented.

After they left the house, I slept for a while, then decided to watch some TV. The movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” was on. I knew it was a classic Christmas movie, but I had never really cared about watching it until now. So, curled up in my nice warm blanket, alone on Christmas Eve, I watched George Bailey’s story unfold and realized that even when we feel small or unseen, our lives are woven into God’s bigger story, and we matter more than we know. I cried like a baby through the whole movie.

Whether it’s 80 degrees and sunshine, or zipping across the country in a brand new car, or being escorted by the police in death defying cold, or curled up in a blanket getting emotional on the couch on Christmas Eve – we all have our memories and our traditions. I hope Jesus is included in all of them. 

(Kevin Cernek is Lead Pastor of Martintown Community Church in Martintown, Wisconsin)