Merry Christmas from North Florida, just a little south of the Georgia/Florida Line!

We hope you have survived 2020 with all its turns and twists and have flourished through the throes of the pandemic, economic chaos, the election, heatwaves, hurricanes, wildfires, and turmoil. Let us pray that we have all learned a little more about ourselves and have held on to the Hope, Joy, and Peace that is at the heart of the Christmas Season.

Little did we all know when we last celebrated that we would find ourselves obsession on the availability of mundane items and wearing masks to venture out on adventures to the grocery store. Who would have imagined that we would worship virtually for two months, and not see our family in person for months.  It is a true blessing that we cannot know all the future has to hold lest we be too timid to venture into it and instead retreat to our caves in cowardice.

We have dealt with the isolation and inconvenience although we have lapsed into reminiscing about the good old days as we remember gathering in large groups to celebrate, eat together, laugh, sing, and rejoice.  We still remember the marvel of travel and long for the return of the casualness of it all.

I think, if we have years to come when we can look back on this time, we will find that in having our wings clipped, we received special blessings that we had been missing.  We spent more time together and found that we still enjoyed doing that.  We experienced a gloriously beautiful spring at our house and relished the colors of our gardens.  Our massive azaleas and camellias received the long needed pruning and care that they had been missing and our yard is in the best shape it has been in for nearly twenty years! 

We are truly thankful that we got the Hawaii Cruise in pre-pandemic and that we did not choose to book the one that ended up quarantined.  Today we brewed Hawaiian coffee and remembered the lovely experiences earlier this year.

So, we send greeting and prayers for a joyful Christmas for you and yours.  We shall judiciously celebrate with those in our bubble and send dreams of hugs to all of you!

 

Christmas Love to you all,

Barbara and Klep