Saturday ponderings . . .

 

 

A lot of people are not looking forward to Christmas this year.  It is less than two weeks away and it promises to be a Christmas quite different than any Christmas we have experienced in our lifetime's. There are many of us who have experienced great loss over these past twelve months. 

 

Many have lost loved ones, some to natural causes, some to accident, some to a virus that surprised us all.

 

Most, if not all of us, will be forced to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year in solitude of some sort. Away from our loved ones. Unable to go to church, or to break bread together, get together with our family in real time. Things promise to be really low key. 

 

This is a HUGE disappointment to many.

 

//////////////4447777777766666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666654

(This is little Jazzy's input.  She just walked across my keyboard, but I can't help thinking she is echoing the feelings of many of us.) 

 

But consider this  . . .  what if it actually turns out to be the best Christmas ever?  What if we are surprised beyond measure by just what opportunities it does afford us?

 

Like the opportunity to connect with each other on a deeper, more singular level.  We are so blessed to live in an age of modern technology. We may not be able to touch each other or to hug each other, but we are blessed with the next best thing.  We can see and talk to each other in real time, via the miracles of modern technology. No, its not what we really want or wanted, but its still a special blessing. 

In a crowded room full of people, everyone doing their own thing, there can be the tendancy to overlook people, or miss connecting with people who are maybe not as forthcoming or social as others might be.  This is our chance to connect with everyone in a one-to-one way if we choose, or as family to family. 

 

Most of us will not be able to attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day like we always have.  I have many very tender memories of my times in church at Christmas.  Just because we cannot do that in person, there is no reason why we cannot connect with Christmas on a deeply spiritual level.  After all, Jesus is the reason for the season, and He hasn't gone anywhere.

All this month I have been reading one chapter from the Book of Luke in the Bible, and pondering on is words.  This has been amazing to me. There are exactly 24 chapters in this book and I will finish on Christmas Eve.  I feel like I am making a connection that is very special and unique.  Throughout this time period I will have read about and pondered all of Christ's life, from his birth to his death. Christ is Christmas.  

 

I love the carols of Christmas.  They always help me to feel the spirit.  I watched the Christmas devotional on You Tube  (as well as my church's website) and I enjoyed it immensely. And it is a very solitary thing because I am the only one in this house who enjoys these things.  That did not take away from my enjoyment of it in the least. 

 

 

We have been watching a Christmas movie or two each and every evening.  This was something Todd never wanted to do.  He never wanted to embrace anything festivus until a day or two before Christmas and then as soon as Christmas day was done, he was done.  This year it has been a special blessing for me to be able to watch these films with people who enjoy them every bit as much as I do.  

Last night Dan had a fireplace on the television screen that was snapping and cracking and playing Christmas music.  Before we knew it we were watching him bust his moves across the living room carpet and we were laughing and enjoying it.  He is the most Christmassy, enthusiastic person I know.  I did film it on my iPad for us to enjoy another time, but he really made both my sister and I laugh.  I know that laughter has not come very easily to either of us this year for a variety of reasons, but Dan is like a breath of fresh air sometimes.  He helps us to forget, if only for a few  moments, the reasons we are feeling sad. 

 

 

We can know that we are not ever truly alone, and that while this Christmas might be a lot more subdued than it usually is, it can still be special.  If you have your health, and your family has its health. If you are all safe. Dry. Warm. Fed. Clothed. You already have more than a great percentage of humanity. We tend to take these things for granted.  We shouldn't.  We could lose any one of them or all of them in an instant.  None of us knows what the future holds.  The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous alike. 

 

These are blessings.

These are gifts. 

Is there someone you can think of who might be totally and utterly physically alone this year?  How about sending them a card or a note. Or picking up the telephone and giving them a call. Letting them know that somebody cares.  

 

So many people will not hear the voice of even one this year, why not change this and let the voice that they hear be yours.

Some of us have estranged family members.  Why not take the first step in reaching out to them?  What's the worst thing that can happen?  You get rebuffed? How can that make you feel any more estranged or worse than you do already.  And you will have done the right thing.   There is never anything wrong about doing the right thing. 

 

 

Our food may be a bit more subdued than it has been in years gone by, but remember  . . .  we have it, we are fed.  Maybe this year we can discover a delicious way of cooking a chicken rather than a turkey. Maybe make six mince pies instead of twelve. Make a small cake rather than a large one. We can still enjoy all the trimmings, but on a smaller scale. Remember this is not forever. This is just for this year. If it is just for this year, we can do it.

It saddens me when I see people running about flouting the rules as if only they matter.  Not wearing masks in defiance. Not sanitising their hands, no social distancing. People who do this may not ever catch the virus but they put all of us at risk.  They put the vulnerable at risk. Perhaps if they catch it, it may be no worse than a cold, but for those they pass it on to . . . . the ramifications can be far, far worse.

We are all tired of the virus.  We are all sick and tired of the restrictions it has brought and the differences it has made in our everyday living. But . . .  it is only for now.  It is not for forever.  If we know this is just for now . . .  can we not all make the sacrifice?  If knowing that we do means a better brighter future for everyone, can we not all just do what we should and have been asked to do?

Maybe the brightest, best, most exquisite gift we can give the world this year is the gift of respect for others and selflessness. 

 

And in the meantime we can give ourselves the gift of hope. Hope that 2021 will be a better and brighter year.  That next year we WILL be able to gather together and that it will be made all the sweeter for us having not been able to this year.  

 

That maybe later, in a few weeks or a few months, we can get together with our family and have that celebration we have all been longing for, hoping for . . .  and we can truly feel good about it.

Doing the things we need to do now protects our future, our families, our loved ones, our friends. Many of the greatest things, the best things, the most worthy things in life have been purchased with the blood of sacrifice.  It has ever been so, and will always been so.

It is a price I will gladly pay. 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *Like a bird singing in the rain

let grateful memories survive in 

times of sorrow.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 

It is so easy in life to dwell upon the things we don't have or have lost, instead of to find gratitude for the blessings of what we do have. Lets try hard this year to not be those people. And I say this as much for myself as I do for anyone.

 

 

In The English Kitchen today   . . .  Caramel Snickerdoodle Cake. Oh my goodness.  That's all I will say. Oh my goodness. 

Have a great Saturday!  Don't forget! 

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════

And I do too!