Holiday thoughts

The various holidays during December are often a cause of reflection. Christmas, with its message of peace and hope is especially enticing. One of my favorite carols is "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." I love the ending, "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep for wrong shall fail, the right prevail...." It is sadly ironic that this Christmas is such a time of mourning in our country. At a time of love and hope, we are seeing much hatred and despair.

However, in spite of the sadness in the news, there are still many wonderful people. I have seen many here in Prescott who are doing quiet, little things to make the holiday happier for those around them. Many contribute to so many different worthy causes, all of which make a difference in our little community. The blessings that come from giving are certainly overwhelming.

As the days get shorter and the nights longer, my thoughts become introspective. Have I accomplished my goals for the year? What goals do I want to set for the next year? It provides a sort of report card on my personal progress.

So, how do I see this year? I retired and started writing instead. That has been a true labor of love. Much of the time that I used to spend reading is now spent writing instead. I accepted a new responsibility at church. It is certainly a major change to go from watching over the toddlers to watching over all the adult women. The challenges are different but the rewards are actually similar. I am grateful for the new relationships formed from this change and ache for the difficulties I now see so often. Retirement allows us to visit our extended family far more often. I love that we are seeing all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren so much more. If it weren't for retirement, we probably would not have seen all the football playoffs and championship for our grandson. Retirement has also enabled me to spend more time studying, both for the writing and for my own growth. That has been challenging and fun.

There are still the usual goals not accomplished, including actually becoming less of a clutterer. I set that goal every year. I have made progress in some areas, but one look at my office will tell you that there is still far to go. That will have to remain on the list, I fear. Age has a way of tackling muscular strength, so the fitness goals will have to have more focus on weight training. I think about it but don't do it often enough. That needs to become more regular.

We had a lesson on the Second Coming which caused me to think about what I want to see in the future and what I can do to bring that to pass. My ongoing goal in that space is to continue to increase the unity and support within our women's group at church. I see them as wonderful women with so much to contribute to one another and so much to teach one another. The hard thing is knowing how to help them to do so. I think all people of good will, Christian and not, help raise the level of love and goodness in the world. I am grateful they are willing to do so.

So, Happy/Merry whatever you celebrate, if you do celebrate at this time of year. I love the promise of a Happy New Year, and hope that 2015 brings you joy.