I can embrace the reality Of dreams yet to fulfill, Knowing God is ever faithful When I’m living in His will.
As Bob Goff says, “Dream Big!”
I can embrace the coming year With prayers for those in need – And reach out to serve the hurting With generosity – release the greed!
I embrace the coming decade And hope to live rightly through it. I embrace the coming vaccine – It’ll be effective – we always knew it.
We knew that this pandemic Could not stay with us forever. There are too many blessed people Out there who are creative and so clever.
But I am not waiting for the shot To stop the misery and relieve the pain. I embrace the fact that LOVE Is what will make us whole again!
So, PEACE, my dear WP friends, I send you the best medicine of all For the end of this misery-filled year: A smile, a virtual hug, a word of grace, an answer to your call.
Just like Bob Goff, Love Does, He puts his cell phone number on his book covers. Call on me … and I will answer every time: (406) 599-9678
HappyNewYear! Big Embraces to you, With Love, JanBeek
With his permission, I am sharing with you the first part of a Christmas letter I received this week from my former pastor, Rev. Brent Mitchell. He is a master wordsmith! He said what’s in my heart so much better than I could have said it.
“Mark it how you will, 2020 was a year not lost, but forever to be remembered for both its absences and its unexpected gifts.
By the middle of March, it became apparent that what we thought as normalcy had left its predictable confines for parts unknown, leaving no forwarding address.
Masked and gloved, we were left to fend for ourselves absent even the comfort of shaking hands or intimate conversations, the communion around tables, camaraderie of birthdays celebrated, the sacred closeness of hospital visits.
Absent of the humanizing connectivity, of those familiar and holy intersections, we were left to laugh alone, to cry alone, and hope in seclusion. It cost us treasures we never knew were so valuable and time that cannot be recalled.
“But admit it: There were unexpected gifts. There were letters we finally wrote, the books we never touched until now, the prolonged stillness that allowed us to think again, and listen to what our hearts were saying.
We talked to God because the hours got quiet enough to hear His still small voice. It happened because we watched enough TV to realize we had watched TV enough, and golden silence gave us gifts that weren’t insipid.
“I think, in short, that if we were paying attention, not only did we get older, but almost certainly wiser because even a painful awareness of what lurks in our hearts and minds is worth more than gold.
The gift was rediscovering at a visceral level that we really are never alone; nor in the absence of everyone, are we left unloved.
“My prayer is that when this is over, and it will one day be over, we won’t forget the things we learned the hard way this year: that God willing, we’ll never go back to the tired normalcy of endless distractions, of busyness as usual, and the noise that never ends.”
The Mitchell Musings December 2020
Peace to you. Good Night, my friends. Have a wonderful Christmas Eve Day.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek. I leave with you my hopes and wishes for a most Blessed Christmas.
Holidays are family time.
We enjoy them through and through.
We gathered here to laugh and celebrate.
We hope your family blesses you, too.
From nearly two to eighty years,
We spanned the decades here,
And each of us added a spark
To greet this coming year.
A brother from central California,
A sister and her husband from Oregon came –
Friends from north and two daughters from east
All traveled with their purpose the same:
Happy Birthday, Dad, Brother, Grampy & Friend!
Thank you for enriching our days.
May the year ahead bring you health and cheer,
And the Good Lord bless you in countless ways!
As we move into the new and remember the past,
May old friends remain near in our souls.
May our love of Life and the Lord permeate our acts
And reflect in our daily walk and our goals.
Happy New Year!
Happy Birthday!
and
God Bless You!
“The new year lies before you like a spotless tract of snow; Be careful how you tread on it, for every mark will show.” This quote is part of the inspiration of the Auld Lang Syne YouTube video at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxSqMbsHeJ8. I am grateful to my friend who sent this to me. I am thankful to each of you on WordPress who shared your inspirational stories, quotes, poems, pictures, and links with us in 2012. I hope you will be encouraged to continue to share your wisdom in 2013. God Bless You with a happy, healthy, meaningful, blessed new year. Tread carefully. Leave your footprints on my heart. Let me tiptoe occasionally on yours, too, OK?
Written
on January 6, 2013