Opus 2024-444: Firsts: Half Full or Half Empty

This year is a genuine first for our family.  We been married almost 50 years and this is the first time that everyone in our immediate family has not been together.  We were flying across the country or flying the kids.  We have driven from Texas to the East Coast.  We have always made it happen.  Two things make this Christmas different.

The first is the product of blessings.  This is the first time that our grandchildren have been able to travel to spend Christmas with the other grandparents.  The first blessing is the son-in-law that made the children possible.  The second is the grandchildren themselves.  And the third is an awareness that we have them so much the time and the other grandparents never get to see them and it worked out that they could travel up and spend a few days with them.  They even got snow.  Although we miss them, I consider that a genuine blessing.  I’m quite willing to share.

The other is not so much a blessing.  My wife is going through a physical difficulty which puts her in no mood to celebrate.  That puts a real damper on festivities.

While these are firsts, the basic foundation of the day continues to radiate joy, peace, and the assurance of eternal life.  Wherever our family is, no matter how healthy we are, this is still the day that we celebrate the incarnation.  This is the day where we take a special focus on the fact that God became man.  I make it a habit of being thankful for this every day, but there’s something special about this season, and this day that makes it stand out.

What a blessing.

I hope that God is real to you today, and I hope that you, unlike us, are able to be together with your loved ones and celebrate in good health.

Merry Christmas.

homo unius libri