No "Christmas Letter 2008"

After college, I moved across the country to volunteer as a missionary in the inner city. I got used to writing letters to family, friends and supporters to let them know how things were going. After I got married, a Christmas letter seemed the perfect way to update far-away family and friends to the going-ons of our life. Some letters have been sentimental, some clever, each building on this tradition I always look forward to. This year the letter will simply be absent.

It's just been "one of those years."

I wouldn't know how to begin to recap all that has happened to our family this year. While I am careful to give God glory for everything He has accomplished in our family through our struggles, a letter this year seems like it would be more of a Who's Who of family catastrophies.

Speaking of which, have you noticed my absence these past few weeks? Let's just say that the holidays didn't go exactly as planned.

The day after Madeline's 2nd birthday party, the first week of December, my husband proceeded to fall off a ladder at work and miraculously only broke both of his wrists. (I say miraculous because every nurse and doctor we came in contact with was faithful to make us aware how blessed he was to have sustained such minor injuries from his type of fall.) This required double surgery, physical therapy, and lots of help from his wife. I am pleased to note, as the year comes to a close, that we are happy he is again able to drive to work, dress himself and finally semi-wrestle with the girls. And that he retained his sense of humor.

A couple days following, my daughter stepped on a toothpick, and we were undecided about whether it actually broke off inside. A trip to the Urgent Care on Christmas Eve confirmed that it had indeed taken up residence in the arch of her foot, making the holidays even that much more exciting. A stop by the peditricians office this week and a minor surgical procedure hopefully did the trick.

The following week, the Southern California desert that we call home, got hit with a rare and freakish snowstorm. Our neighborhood was dumped with 8 inches that day! Beautiful indeed. Nonetheless, being the "desert" that it is, the city was unequipped to deal with the snow and announced the closure of every freeway into and out of town. I happened to be out of town and was unable to get home for 2 days. I was grateful to have my in-laws home to stay in, as many were forced to spend that time in their cars on the side of the road.

So, while we may not have been able to put together our Gingerbread House, and although our Christmas cards may have been a bit late, and even though we didn't make it to Christmas Eve service (our favorite tradition!), somehow those things lost their utmost importance.

As we reflect on the past year, we take note of the good and the bad. It has been a year of non-traditions for sure. But ultimately, we find ourselves grateful for our health, our jobs, God's provisions, God's protection, and the time we have together as a family, which in essence overrides all the struggles, pain, family estrangements and inconveniences this year brought our way.

We look forward to what God has in store for each of us in 2009. We anticipate getting closer to God as a family and seeking what it is He would have us do with the next year.

May the Peace of the season be yours! Love, Rebecca