Title: Celebrating Still Works...
Tags: Christmas, Thanksgiving, experience
Blog Entry: Our Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone, November has arrived, and we've just experienced our first snowstorm of the season. It has been quite a year, and Christmas is just around the corner. This year, we are being encouraged to shop early because supply may be a challenge. I am so happy that I don't have to go shopping. Years ago, our two adult children suggested that we should find a Christmas project to donate to, because none of us needed anything. We agreed with their request that if we wanted to gift the children, one gift for each was enough. One gift didn't mean one big box with six items in it... it meant ONE gift! During the year, we could still remember birthdays with cards and gifts, and “just because” gifts were always acceptable. We also stopped sending piles of Christmas cards with just a salutation, but send a New Year’s newsletter to our friends. It was not our original idea, but when we started receiving letters from friends that included their special Christmas activities, as well as highlights of their year, we enjoyed them very much. We had the time to read (and re-read) these letters after the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparation and activities. What should I write in our 2021 New Year’s letter? We’ve all received far too many opinions and directives regarding the Covid pandemic, we’ve probably passed on our opinions too many times on almost any current topic to family and friends, and even shared our ‘boring’ days and how we’ve tried to keep our days filled with constructive activities. Of course, there seemed to always ample opportunity to share and discuss our medical history and current conditions, so what is left to include in our New Year’s greeting letter. The more I think about it, the more I want this year’s letter to be more of a Thanksgiving letter. We have so many things to be thankful for. Our family is not shy in expressing and demonstrating their love and respect for us… and the feelings are mutual. The medical resources in our city are beyond our expectations, and following our medical challenges this year, my best friend and I are still able to enjoy living in our rural home. Above all else, we have learned that our faith and trust in Father God in Heaven increases in the ‘tough times’. When we experience unexpected and unexplained events, we start asking questions … When? Where? What? Why? This quote keeps coming to mind … a great reminder! Coincidence is when God works a miracle and decides to remain anonymous.
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