December, 2009 Edition
Posted by Administrator on December 8, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Its the holiday season once again and “home for the holidays” takes on such an enormous feeling of warmth and joy. The next few weeks will be filled with the little things that makes us smile and hearts tug spontaneously.
Donna Martin, co-owner of Village Photo, and I both attend the same church and I had the honor of not only knowing her mom, but being the recipient of a special message she shared with our congregation just recently that shaped my thoughts heading into this season. With her permission, I wanted to share it with all of you:
What’s the Deal God?
Last year we were forced once again to celebrate Christmas shortly after losing a loved one. As most of you know, our mother Sylvia Van Deinse went to be with the Lord very unexpectedly on Monday, December 15th. We were all in shock to say the least. For the third time we had to go into the most celebrated time of the year with grieving hearts. On Monday, December 20, 1971 we lost our father to a massive heart attack. Twenty eight years later on the same day and date of the year, Monday December 20, 1999 our brother died also of a heart attack. Three family members within ten days of Christmas, it just didn’t seem fair. With my mother’s passing I definitely questioned God’s motives. What’s the deal God?
A year later as I think about celebrating the holidays I’ve come to realize that maybe it’s a blessing to grieve during the Christmas season. Despite our troubles and sorrows it’s hard not to feel the warmth and joy of the baby Jesus’ birth. It is after all the reason we know our loved ones have eternal life.
The day my father died our Christmas tree toppled over as his body was carried out of the house. The ironic thing is the tree was about fifteen feet away. My mom with her infinite wisdom and positive outlook said it was Pappa’s way of telling us to pick up the pieces and go on. Putting the tree back together was symbolic for us.
The past few years I’ve become lazy about decorating and preparing for Christmas. Too much focus on the gifts to buy was robbing all my energy. This year will be different. I can’t wait to put out the new Nativity my son and his wife gave me for Christmas last year. Every ornament I hang on my tree will conjure up a warm family memory, of which I have zillions. We will continue the tradition we started five years ago. On the first Sunday of December our entire family gathers to make Spekkoek, a very labor intensive Indonesian layered cake (each of the twelve or more layers is individually broiled) that everybody loves but none of the older relatives wanted to make any more. At the end of the day there will have been some smoke and burning layers involved and lots of laughter. There will be ten or more cakes and no doubt Bernadette’s will be the best!
As I think of all the new memories that are created during the holidays, I now see things differently. God blessed us by combining our grief and joy into one big month. As we think of loved ones we’ve lost, we truly remember “The Reason for the Season”.” — Donna Martin
Its another difficult year for many because of the recession, that’s no doubt. Some will struggle, some will feel overwhelmed and others will question what to believe. Depending on your spirituality, wouldn’t it seem that the many that may face challenges are the purest reflection of what the holiday season should mean? Joseph worried terribly, he and Mary made a journey to an unknown destination and capped it all off by birthing a child. Somehow, it was all okay. Hmph.
As Andy Rooney once said, “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.”
Happy Holidays to you and yours,
Angela McFarland
Publisher
