Continued Hope upon Hope

Here we are into 2018, barely but it's like someone wiped out the Christmas festivities by submerging us into a quick freeze, leaving us wondering if February is typically the coldest month, what will we have this year?  

As I rub the frost off the rearview mirror of my mind to take a small look at the past couple of weeks, it's filled with a much more quiet and calm holiday season for a number of reasons.  

Santa was good, listening carefully to us all singing in agreement of how we just don't 'need' anything.  Reduce the spending, pick names, do we really need stockings? and other materialistic decisions wafting through the air like a turkey bursting at the seams with homemade stuffing and juices for the best ever gravy.

Did we make any final decisions?  No, but at least we talked about it and with all 'kids' now over the age of 21 (pick any number suiting your situation), we can have adult conversation.  Somehow I think the stockings, if all else was taken away, might be the last cling on to Christmas' past hold on our childhood.  Even though I said no more stockings, if we really say what we mean, mean what we say and do what we say we're going to do (Barbara Coloroso, Former Nun and Child Psychologist), the reduction in overall gifts might just leave room for more interesting and thoughtful stockings.  Hmmm, another 11 months to think about it.  After all, this year I didn't feel well enough to go out and get the usual stuffers of sweets, toothpaste and floss, yet a combination of greater maturity on the kids' part and innovative pursuit of interesting stocking stuffers made this year's the best yet.  Funny how, as they grow into adulthood, the kitchen gadgets become most interesting by their own admission.

On that note though, if we choose to go the route of Secret Santa or picking names, I suggested we might do it now rather than waiting until the end of the year.  The reason being, it gives us all the space to be mindful and listen more carefully to the conversations we have with our chosen recipient. Great idea! 

On a sad note, this Christmas was preceded by the loss of my brother in law, Jeff Dobbs who we learned passed away on December 18th in Hamilton, after a short hospital stay, leaving his brother Kirk the last one standing in their nuclear family.  Earlier this year we'd lost their sister Sue to which Jeff had remarked how he'd wished it was him rather than Sue.  Sadly, he got his wish before the year was out.  Perhaps Jeff, Rick, Sue and their parents, Jack and Helen were all together celebrating the New Year together as they watch over us from on high.  With no immediate plans for a funeral or memorial service, each of us could grieve quietly and acknowledge one another in a truly heartfelt and sincere way.  Do I feel badly for not having made a more proactive effort to keep in contact, even if by text?  Perhaps, but I can overcome that age old behaviour by remembering how touched Jeff was when I sent him many photographs of his sister Sue's Celebration of Life.  We were able to accommodate him 'in his own time and in his own way' since he simply could not attend in person.  Rest in Peace Jeff. xo

I gotta tell you, this blog post crept up on me like a cat on an unsuspecting mouse.  As we sat relaxing yesterday, out of the blue I realized I'd better sharpen my fingers and clear the fog from my brain before inviting Holy Spirit in for another ride along the path of Adventures in Prayer and Medicine.  A few months ago, I set up a new folder called 'Blog Fodder', with a view to sharing interesting tidbits from here, there and everywhere.  One of my regular followers always seems to have something to say which really does make me LOL.  Here's a recent comment:

"You brought to mind that the annual church pilgrimage to Lourdes was a must for my mom and dad for many years. They always looked forward to it with great anticipation.
Regarding lashing out, now and again, and feeling sorry for oneself, that's cool and understandable. Even the Big Guy  did it occasionally-remember the temple?'
(Okay, now this next line I'm sure is not literal.  After all our generation did grow up watching Wiley E. Coyote get blown up, knocked off cliffs, plane crashes and any other means of annihilation without suffering any permanent damage)
'I tend to give my cat a good kick. Works for both of us- I receive instant gratification and she anticipates extra special kitty treats as my penance, after she comes out from hiding behind the sofa, a few hours later."

If it didn't make you laugh, that's ok, I laughed for both of us because I don't automatically jump to the conclusion this individual is abusive to animals, only on paper!  I took it for the good natured context of the comment rather than leaping onto my high horse of 'everything correctness to the extreme.'  That's a discussion for another day.....

I'd like to close with another piece from my 'Blog Fodder' collection which is a saying by Chiara Lubich (fwd to me by a friend), "Serve without expecting anything in return.'

It's a simple statement, a well known phrase and a guiding principle in life.  In our ever evolving world though, how much is it really practiced anymore?  My guess is much more than we might ever think.  Sadly, many of those at the top of our echelons of power appear to be self serving, egotistical and selfish which I suppose its open for debate.  By making this comment I'm stepping out onto a steel girder of opinion at the top of a naked high-rise where even the slightest gust of opposing winds can knock me off into space.  If we were to truly collect each and every little good work, I'm sure it would fill our oceans with hope many times over in a short while.  Why?  How could I say that?  Remember the loudest boasters tend to be more full of hot air, and themselves than the humble, modest individuals who continue to do good works because it's the right thing to do.  As well, we all agree  'it's only bad news that sells papers' so how skewed has our media become?  I'm continuing to work on avoiding news stories which dwell on potentially made up hearsay rumoured to be the truth turned backwards, upside downs and inside out.  Whew.  Don't we all have much better things to focus our attention on.  Compare these comments to the gently snow which has been falling as I've been writing this morning.  It's hard to believe how through the accumulation of beautiful, individually perfect flakes can, once banded together create such a force to be reckoned with on any given day.  With that thought I'll leave you to ponder how each of us can think of just one way to 'serve without expecting anything in return.  

Take care, God Bless and hope to be back in a couple of weeks,

Hugs

Liz

dobbsjones@gmail.com

'Prayers wrapped in faith and sent with love are the greatest gifts we can receive.'