Ilene Cederquist’s husband had been out of work for weeks, and with five young children to feed, life was hard. “It seemed ages since we had had meat,” Ilene recalls. “But it was too expensive.” How she longed for a beef roast or hamburgers.

Ilene’s husband searched for work each day, but he was too proud to ask for help. Thus, neighbors and friends assumed the family was doing fine. “No one knew how desperate our situation was becoming” Ilene says. She prayed daily that God would help them because she knew no one else would. And if things were tough now, how would they get through Christmas?

One afternoon Ilene searched her pantry with growing concern. She had some potatoes, vegetables, a little bread…not enough to go around for dinner tonight. And nothing for dinner tomorrow… She heard her husband’s key in the back door lock and she turned eagerly to him. But his face was filled with despair. There had been no job offer today.

Just then, the front doorbell rang. Ilene opened it to a dark-haired woman standing on the porch, holding a bag. “I heard you wanted this,” the woman said, handing it to Ilene. Puzzled, Ilene looked inside. There was a huge beef roast, and several packages of hamburger.

“There must be some mistake…” Ilene looked up.
But the woman wasn’t standing on the porch or going down the walk. In those few seconds, how could she have vanished? But Ilene had a clear view of the street and no car was pulling away.

Ilene phoned her minister and family members. No one had sent the meat. But now that people realized the Cederquists needed help, everyone rallied around. On Christmas morning, the children shrieked with delight. “Mom, Santa came!” Soon after, Ilene and her husband found part-time jobs.

Ilene never saw the woman again. “But she brought us both help and hope,” Ilene says. “I think she knows how gratefully we are.”

© 1993 Joan Wester Anderson Originally published in Woman’s Day Magazine