I have Missed You....

Hi and please excuse my absence, I have been thinking of you a good deal!   The holidays come and go with all the expectations and visions either exceeding, falling short or being met....for me I was somewhere in the middle of all those as I tried to seek and find some peace and stillness among the 'business' of it all and I did!  In that stillness I visited my childhood, my past, my present, my pain, my joy, my fear, my future, my faith.  I even ventured out to try something new, by joining the choir at my church!  Yes, I giggle too, but you know what I so enjoyed it, we sang "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" on Christmas Eve, what a blessing.  Bruce and I decorated our home some and I will be vulnerable enough to let you know I did not get my tree up and although it felt like a hiccup in the holiday, I have come to peace with that. Bruce placed an artificial tree we had in the barn, out in the yard and decorated it beautifully (yes he's great!).  I also traveled to Arizona to be at the side of my beloved Diane as she grieved the loss of her dad, right where I needed to be! I participated in Good Samaritans Shoe box and gifted a local family in need, for this service I am so grateful!  I attended a holiday Women's Service at a local church, which is quickly becoming a tradition, I am thankful for the work these women do to gather and quiet us to feel and embrace the celebration of Jesus, and to let go of unwrapped gifts, unmade Christmas cookies, un-decorated trees (or in my case no tree at all) they give you permission to be fully present in the glory of the birth and put aside the 'outside' expectations...all is calm, all is bright.