I am sitting in my grandmother's kitchen. It is after 5:00 pm. We have been cooking all day long getting ready for Christmas; I did deserts, Grammy did entree's. I realized something that I thought I should share...
I am so lucky. This year marks my 30th Christmas and after 30 years, I am able to sit down and enjoy the company and experience of having Christmas with my grandparents who are both alive and well in their early 70's.
When my mother was my age her grandparents were gone and the traditions she grew up with were only a memory. This year my younger cousins are going through a very difficult Christmas. My Uncle Rex, their grandfather lost his battle with cancer in September; and much like the shot heard 'round the world, the impact of this one humble man's passing has been massive.
However, true to the divine promise that with every end brings a new beginning, this Novemeber our family was blessed with 2 additions in the form of my sister's identical twin boys: Jacob an Caleb. For me and mine this time is one of celebration. Personally, though, I am having a hard time balancing it all out in my head and heart. I almost feel guilty being happy while I know that people very close to me are in a great deal of pain. Not even Santa Claus can bring back a loved one, or make the pain of loss go away.
Of this year and season I can but only wish all of you a Merry Christmas, and the happiest of memories for the years to come. Remember not to take a single moment with your loved ones for granted. We are not always promised tomorrow, so I think it is important to treasure each moment your are given. I hope I haven't taken for granted any of the time I have had with my family.
In closing I would like to leave you with this prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for my family; for without my family I am nothing. Thank you for my memories; for they have shaped and sculpted the person I am. Thank you for the time we have had together; for the love of our family is the core of our lives. Thank you for helping our family to grow; for how else are we to pass on our love and traditions if not through the family's new members.
And most of all dear Lord of Love and Mercy, please bless our empty chairs; for those who have gone to be with you are still a part of us and will never be forgotten.
Amen