“Hi Daddy. We’re getting ready to open presents. We miss you. Merry Christmas, everybody.”

And I lost it. How many kids wouldn’t decorate their Christmas tree with Mom or hand Daddy his gifts? The unfairness of it all sent tears dripping into the dinner I was preparing. I wiped my eyes before my sons and husband noticed.

It’s OK to be sad for them, I sensed God saying. But why don’t you also pray for them? So as I dabbed at my eyes, I prayed for the families represented in the song. A moment of what felt like holiday sappiness turned into a time for remembering those who, unlike me, wouldn’t have everyone home for Christmas.

Traditionally Christmas is a family time. As we are preparing festive meals, baking cookies, and dusting off our copies of It’s a Wonderful Life, it’s easy to forget those whose husbands, sons, wives, or mothers are halfway around the world serving in the military.

Paul wanted desperately to be with his friends and fellow believers. His loneliness comes through in his letters and written prayers, along with the evidence that he also drew strength from the prayers and support they sent his way. His words can remind us that prayers make a difference, even for those we will never meet.