It was Christmas Eve. The house was decorated and the gifts were wrapped. Now we were all hustling around getting ready to go to the Christmas Eve service at church.

The TV was on when I heard the news reporter announce that Dr. Norman V. Peale had died. I stopped and stared at the TV. I knew Dr. Peale was in his 90's and had lived a long time, but I was still feeling sad to hear the news.

Our 4 year old son, Brandon, was also in the room and heard the news. Much to my astonishment his little face lit up when he heard the same news and said, "Wow, Dr. Peale really was special! God called him home for Christmas!"