7 Quick Takes Friday

My prayers are with Jen- sounds frightening. May the Lord fill her room with angels and the beautiful scent of heaven and surround her in a cloud of peace and gentle joy as she rests.

I too received an E-reader from one of my daughters for Christmas. I never thought I could ever read on one of these contraptions but they hold so many books and they are so light and small that they tuck in anything and can go anywhere absolutely wonderful for any bookworm!

We are still celebrating Christmas at least till Jan. 6 –Epiphany. We will take down the tree and decorations but we leave up some strings of lights until some of the winte’rs darkness lifts. The warm lights brighten the house, lift our spirits and are a perfect antidote for long, dark days.

Although I have not yet adjusted to solitude and free time, I thank the Lord for this new freedom to start to write again. The walls of ice which imprisoned my writing skills are thawing out. after 30 years of raising 9 kids and helping run a hobby farm. It might be 28 C outside with almost 50 cm of snow but in the study, the wood-stove is burning. Yep, my heart is burning with fervor and my thoughts are leaping for joy.

There is a common practice of naming the year by setting aside a word for the year; a focal point to direct our days

The word that popped into my head immediately for this year was Surrendering. Usually people use a noun but I needed a verb and not a noun because it describes a journey that I have been on for 40 years, since I was 17. I am now at the crux of this journey. This year I choose not to ignore the heavy pressing in of God but to face my fears head on and say yes .

As for New Years Resolutions, the truth is that we are all too hard on ourselves and simply not patient enough with the natural process, a process which is automatic, hidden from our eyes. This hidden process of growth continues once we have taken a step to embrace change and let go of the old, once we have said yes. It is just slow that’s all.Think of the pendulum on a clock. Once the mechanism that works the pendulum stops, the pendulum still swings back and forth but each arc is a less pronounced until it stops completely in the middle, in perfect balance. That image is a perfect example of how change is worked out in our lives. It takes time for the old habits to die but once the driving engine that fuels our habits dies, they slowly shrivel up until they stop completely.