Dear Friends,
Thanksgiving Day has passed (although the days for giving thanks remain) and so it’s time to write our annual Christmas letter. A decade ago, we began with references to foreign sites that had suddenly become important in our lives: 1989, Berlin; 1990, Baghdad; 1991, the nations of the USSR; 1992, Mogadishu, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Today, we add Afghanistan. Two years ago we were worried about the Y2K “bug”; today, anthrax. A year ago we were puzzled about who would be declared to be the actual President of our country; today we are puzzled by the actions of our country … in national security, in civil liberties, in economics, in peace and in war. Only one event remains constant: our trust that the One whose birth we still celebrate will continue to be with us regardless of the other changes in our lives.
For the 17th consecutive year, our parish of Christ the Good Shepherd has sponsored an interfaith Thanksgiving service in which we have, personally, been deeply involved. An integral partner in this has been our neighbor: Congregation Jewish Community North. Over the years we have been joined by ministers and people from local Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Episcopalian communities. This year’s service began with a reading from Ecclesiastes:
“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
We, ourselves, have experienced many of these “times” over the last twelve months.
A joy-filled time was the birth of our eighth grandchild, Olivia Dominique, who joined Jordan, Dillon, Christina, Thomas and Victoria, along with her cousins: Kirby and Kennedy. We have been saddened by the deaths and sudden accidents befalling dear friends. We have been thankful for the quick recovery of Jordan from surgery to correct a lung problem.
We have been pleased and invigorated by our spiritual work … Pat with preparing young couples for marriage and witnessing their weddings; Karen with preparing and offering days of prayer and reflection at the Cenacle Retreat House. It seems that Pat, although increasing his parish activities, still has time for personal fun in his retirement and Karen, by decreasing her involvement with the training of spiritual directors, has opportunities for personal growth and enjoyment. Pat has taken on the “project” of archiving old photographs and slides onto his computer; Karen of completing good, ol’fashion albums for “hard-copy” recollections.
In addition to helping Tracey raise six excellent grandchildren, Ken continues as an “information architect” with PentaSafe, a software company devoted to computer security. Chris and Kelly are involved in the education of our other two excellent grandchildren and undertake other teaching tasks with biology and mathematics students at Oakridge and Klein Oak high schools, respectively. Deb remains as a librarian in San Antonio while Joe attempts to adapt to a new position as a librarian in Nashville, TN. (Only time will tell whether they become attached to the Titans or Texans!)
This year’s travel for us has been “domestic.” There was a two-week Alaskan land-tour and cruise. Pat became fascinated with 24 hours of daylight; unfortunately during those long days, we saw only a few small creatures. (The elk, moose, bears, whales, etc. must have gone south for their own vacation in July.)
Karen planned on going with Deb for an Ohio visit in mid-September, but other events precluded a trip then. However, the two of us did get away for a weekend where Pat was honored as a distinguished alumnus of Niles McKinley High School. A major pleasantry of that trip in late September was our opportunity to see the foliage change in northeastern Ohio. We really do miss it; but we miss seeing our friends even more.
Yes, there is a time for everything, for every change. Yet we do not wish to change in our warm thoughts and recollections of what you mean to us … and will continue to mean … as we move forward into the uncertainties of the next part of our journey with our Companion for the way of life … our life and His whose birth among us we celebrate this season … and all seasons.