Archive for 2011

Literary Mileage
Joy Beyond the Season

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

My friends Sam and Missy

My friend Sam is senior correspondent in charge of health updates regarding his wife, Missy. They are living a day-to-day dance with serious breast cancer treatment. Sam recently sent several of us this email: “I hope at sometime during all the rushing around and busy-ness of the season you can take time to contemplate the reason we celebrate this holiday in the first place.” He goes on to say, “We recently heard a good sermon regarding the JOY of Christmas and the lack of it sometimes in our daily lives, joy being defined as the good feeling we get when we do something for another person without expecting a reward. I think there are a lot of examples of this particular joy, namely the many times we remember to pray for those dealing with difficulties.”
He closes by thanking us for our prayers and healing thoughts. For me, it is poignant to think of a prayer as a small gift that can bring a measure of joy to both the giver and the receiver. It’s nice to hear that what can seem pitifully inadequate may have value to somebody confronting frightening health challenges.

Tidings of Joy from Judy (by way of my friend Karen)

Joyce Sequichie Hifler, author of “A Cherokee Feast of Days,” writes, “There is something about a Christmas sky when the night is clear and still, and the stars are bright enough to light the way without the help of the moon….Christmas was a gift to us.” She and Sam remind me that we can treasure the gift of this season, as well as each day we ‘receive’ beyond it.
May these holidays and 2012 bring you gifts of joy, both small and large.

 

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