I love this note that Ella my six year old wrote to Santa on Christmas Eve!
Well, here it is, new years eve...on the cusp of a new decade. I remember so well, sitting with my parents, Andy & the kids...Sam my middle son was really sick, & together we rang in the new millenium, half expecting some weird y2k glitch to throw us into darkness, yet not really believing it would happen! We were in our newly built first home that we loved beyond compare & all in all, we felt pretty happy!
My children were so young then. Now my oldest Ben, will graduate highschool this year, enter university & somehow, we will find a way to adapt to having a young adult in our home, not the baby or little boy I remember & miss. However, I love having these amazing young men as my sons...they are such interesting people & I'm excited for their future.
This Christmas my kids gave us a video they made of the last nine years! We both sat in tears watching our life flick across the screen & the reality that the time was gone, to never come back, left us feeling sad. But on the flip side, we also felt really good, because we really have done the best we can and we have a lot of happy memories & fun times! We love our children more than anything...they have been front & center in every choice we have made, right or wrong.
So, as 2009 closes, I am grateful that tonight I went to church to welcome in the new year! I needed to acknowledge the significance of this decade...the changes, the joys & the sorrow we have experienced. I needed to pray & give thanks! I needed to pray for family members & most of all, I am just happy to be there. I also felt the loss of my old church, the people, the history. But, happy to pray for their continued blessings.
Sadly, as the evening closes out, I can't ignore the grief I feel for my cousin Shannon who lives in Northern Ireland. Here is a woman who against all odds is a fighter & survivor! She lost her 23 year old son suddenly & tragically here in Canada & had to fly home to Canada to have him buried yesterday. How does one move on from the loss of a child...I pray that she finds comfort in God, that somehow through her grief the love & comfort that I pray Jesus can give her, touches her somehow.
Hug your children, hug your loved ones...life is short, life is a gift & no matter how crazy your life is...there is a purpose & meaning to it.
Happy New Year!
