December 24 - Christmas Angels

"Christ has no body now but yours." - St. Teresa of Avila

Merry Christmas!  

After listening to today's Advent video from Dynamic Catholic and then reflecting on their message that "People inspire hope", I decided to share a story about a "Christmas Angel" from many years ago that gave me hope. 

Eleven years ago I was in the hospital on Christmas Eve in Springfield, Missouri. I had been newly diagnosed with Chronic Myleoid Leukemia (CML) just two days earlier.  My kids, at my insistence, had gone to Kansas for Christmas. My husband was in a room up the hall getting some much needed rest. My families tradition was to have a big family gathering every Christmas Eve and this would be the first time I wouldn't be there. It was about 8 p.m. and I remember feeling more lonely and afraid than I'd ever felt in my life. After only about 15 minutes of being alone, two young ladies came into my room. One of them approached me and presented me a handmade snowman. It was beautiful in its simplicity. It stood about 8" tall with the body of the snowman made of felt, standing in a miniature terracotta pot. I was told by the young lady that she had lost her father to cancer, and now in his remembrance she visited cancer patients on Christmas Eve. What a wonderful gesture! She didn't stay long. I thanked her for her gift and she left. When she was gone, I looked more closely at the snowman, and there clipped on the back with a clothes pin was a handwritten message on a small sticky note. It said  "Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. God bless you and keep you. Someone is praying you." Wow - what a gift! 

This stranger gave me hope! This stranger became my Christmas Angel!

 

There's a lot of negative things in today's society, and a lot of people who are going through difficult times. While Christmas is a joyous time, it can be lonely for some, and many, myself included, miss our loved ones who have passed more intensely at Christmas. If it is your first Christmas after losing a loved one or your are experiencing something difficult, like I was, it can be easy to feel down. For those who are going through a difficult time, I pray that you find comfort, peace, and hope.

I will end by sharing Dynamic Catholic's "action" for the day: "Get in the mess. Give hope when it is difficult this Christmas."

 

 

December 8 - Hope

"Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer." - Romans 12:12

Since the season of Advent is about hope, I started thinking about how I could live mindfully, which means focusing on now, while also experiencing hope, which I tend to think of as a desire for something to happen in the future. What I realize, is that hope is about both the present and the future. Today, right now, I hope to experience a quiet night and a feeling of peace. I also hope, for peace and health, along with many other things, for the future. What living mindfully does is help me recognize the feeling of hope. In fact, if you look up the definition of hope, you will find "A feeling of trust" as one of the definitions.

When I reflect on the past year and my journey to be more mindful, I realize how much living mindfully has improved my sense of well being and improved my fear and anxiety. Often, although I'm not sure I was aware of it at the time, that sense of  well being came from hope, especially during the many days and nights where Ed experienced his critical health issues. Sometimes the hope was for the future, that tomorrow would be better than today. Sometimes, the hope was in the present--- from the feeling of trust that tomorrow would be better than today. Hope - - it's a beautiful thing.

During this season of Advent, we are reminded not to live in a place of settling but to live in a place of being awake and aware. It is the truth and expectation that God is working in our life now, in our present moment. It is a promise that what we hope for in his name is obtainable. It is a time to remember that the salvation God promised throughout all of history has already come, and we live in the hope of that salvation. We cannot settle for just the way things are, but must live in the awe and wonder of the memory of God’s promise.

My hope for anyone reading this is that during this Christmas season you find hope...hope in Jesus. And, that through this hope you find "an anchor for your soul" which secures you through the storms of life.