Christianity Medals
I was only 6 years old and my two older brothers would go with me James was 8 and Frank was 10. We were in different classes in Sunday school.
It was a small country community that we lived in and I swear everyone belonged to the same church and when my father was transferred with his job to the city it was sad for all of us to be leaving our neighbors and friends behind.
On the last Sunday before we left we shred food together for the last time after the service and as a present my classmates gave me a St Christopher medal for safe travels and this was the first of my Christianity medals. After that I began to collect Christianity medals from friends and family and now that I am grown up I seek them out wherever I can.
I travel as a Stewardess on a major airline and I collect Christianity medals from all over the world, I carry my original St Christopher medal with me for my safe journey and a couple of my other Christianity medals go with me as well on the same chain to keep not just me safe but all of us on our journeys.
The Christianity medals came in handy on one particular flight. It was a transatlantic flight that was over 12 hours long. The weather was fairly rough and I kept touching my Christianity medals with a short prayer for safety on our trip. The lights were off a few passengers were watching movies but most were settling down for sleep.
A light came on, a passenger call button and I went to see what I could do to help. I heard a moan as I approached the passenger Carol, who I knew was pregnant, and my hand slightly touched my Christianity medals hoping that everything was okay.
Carol didn’t look good and I instinctively touched my Christianity medals again. She told me that she was in pain and it looked like she was going into labour, the problem with that was that we were still over the ocean and hours away from any airport and help.
We moved Carol into the first class section, which was fairly empty, and we could make her more comfortable. We called for a doctor or nurse to make themselves known on the flight but there was nobody with any medical knowledge on board. In fact it turned out I was the most qualified with my recent first aid training.
I looked into Carol’s eyes and she was scared this was her first child and she was flying to meet her husband. I stayed with her and she asked me to pray with her, it turned out that she was a devout Catholic as well. I undid the Christianity medals from around my neck and gave them to her to hold, to give her strength and as the turbulent weather tossed the plane around we held the Christianity medals together and prayed, not just for the safety of her child but of everybody on board the flight.
Everything turned out well. Carol did give birth to her baby 2 months early but just before we landed and as she held my Christianity medals I helped her to bring her new born baby into the world. A paramedic team met us on the tarmac and whisked them away to hospital but before they did Carol pressed my Christianity medals into my hand and whispered a thank you.
My Christianity medals give me a lot of comfort and have done for many years when I have been going through tough times. Here are some of my favourite Christianity medals and where I found them:
# 1 Christianity medals - St Benedict Blue Silver Medal Catholic Medjugorje: i was given this medal on a trip to Bosnia, this was when I was visiting a sick relative who was grateful for the time that I spent with her;
# 2 Christianity medals - Our Lady of Lourdes Pope Blessed St. Bernadette Medal: This is a special part of my Christianity medals collection as it is actually blessed by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. It is a gold plated Saint Bernadette of Lourdes medal and I was given this on one of my trips to the beautiful city of Rome;
# 3 Christianity medals - Vintage Oval Padre Pio Servant of God Religious Medal: on my second trip to Rome I was a stewardess on a flight and help an elderly Italian woman who was traveling home and a bit frail. As she left the flight she gave me this medal;
# 4 Christianity medals - Large Oval Pastel St. Teresa Picture Medal Necklace: I was give this by one of the pilots on a trip to London, he knew that I collected Christianity medals and had found it at a second hand shop and thought it very pretty and that I would like it;
# 5 Christianity medals - Large Vintage Pope Paul VI St Christopher Religious Medal: I bought this one myself on my last trip to Rome. I was browsing a small store with lots of knick knacks and saw this medal and had to have it to add to my Christianity medals collection.