Holiday Joys For Some, Not All

"Trust me: in your times of trouble, and | will rescue you, and you will give me glory."

Psalm 50:15

The holidays are fast approaching. Where has the year gone? For many, the holidays are not a time of joy. Some may even wish to skip the holidays all together as they bring an overwhelming feeling of sadness to them. Some may feel that the commercialization of the holidays has taken away the true meaning of Christmas and this may deter them from celebrating. Maybe you are missing a loved one this season that has passed away. Maybe you have endured an unforeseen family break-up and the thought of celebrating this year is daunting. Maybe you or a loved one are physically or emotionally sick and don't have the energy to celebrate much of anything. Maybe you are struggling financially and feel the financial burden the holidays can endure.  If you feel overwhelmed, sad, or simply want to skip the holidays all together, you are not alone. Put one foot in front of the other and do your best because sometimes, that is all we can do. I for one will not judge you for not wanting to celebrate. Some years are tougher than others and some holidays may be plain old hard to celebrate for various reasons. Remember to do you. Do what is best for you. Do what makes you happy. Don't worry about logistics of how others celebrate. God doesn't care about the gifts you give to others, the food you choose for your Christmas meal, or how pretty your Christmas tree is decorated. All He cares about, is that you celebrate the true meaning: Jesus' birth. He cares about you. So, put your sadness, overwhelming feelings, and decorations aside for a bit and take a short time to relish in the true meaning of Christmas.

With that being, said, I will give an update on the comings and goings of our household. It has been a busy month. Mark has been doctoring for a while for some health issues with his bladder. He saw a urologist back in August before we left on our Alaskan cruise. The doctor scoped him and found several lesions and he was about 75% sure it was cancer. Mark couldn't get in to have surgery until the end of September and then there was the waiting game to find out the biopsy results. Finally, the middle of October we received the news that the lesions in Mark's bladder were not cancer. He does have an autoimmune disease called interstitial cystitis that will need to be monitored as the lesions in his bladder could return and there is no great treatment and no cure. It was also discovered that he had a large kidney stone that was too big to pass so he underwent another surgery the end of October to break up the stone. A few days after that surgery, we ended up in the ER after he could no longer take the excruciating pain, He received a lot of pain meds and some fluids to help the stone fragments pass. Finally, after another 24 hours, he got some much-needed relief. We are so thankful for no cancer and so grateful that Jamestown has a Urologist so we don't have to travel to Fargo if any issues should reoccur. 

I celebrated my birthday the beginning of November. Mark surprised me with an overnight trip to Fargo complete with reservations to a nice restaurant. We bought a cake and Justine, Paislee, and Gunnar came over to help us eat it. Birthdays are so much more fun with grandkids. They are so excited to see the cake and blow out the candles. We have relit candles on cakes so many times and it never gets old. Mark and I surprised Kalli with a trip to Florida to see Bailee and Tristan for a long weekend. My sister Sheila and brother-in-law Ron joined us. It was such a fun-filled weekend and we packed all we could into the time we had. We visited a favorite city of ours, St. Augustine, we ate lots of food, we went to a Jacksonville vs. 49-ers game, and the guys helped put in a ring doorbell for the kids. The NFL game was a first for me and Kalli and the 49-ers kicked butt so Mark was one happy man.

A week later Bailee came home to help celebrate Gunnar's 1st birthday. Kalli turned 18 on the 20th of November and Gunnar turned 1 on the 22nd. We celebrated the two birthdays together on the 20th. It was so fun to watch Kalli (and Paislee) blow out the candles numerous times. It was also quite entertaining to watch Gunnar devour his cake. Justine took it away before he was done, and he let her know it! Grandpa Mark gave him a bath that night and Gunnar came back a couple days later and finished his birthday cake! How can it be possible that our baby girl is 18? How can it be possible that we have two amazing grandchildren? A few words come to mind when I think about it all: miraculous, grateful, blessed, and faith. There was a time when we didn't know if we would ever have kids and 29 years later.......this is where we are.

During this holiday season try not to stress too much. Enjoy the little things. Do what works for you. If you choose to skip the celebrating, that is ok. Sometimes things are hard, and you have all you can do to get through the day. Please know that you are not alone. Please know that you are loved, and you are cared for. Take time to reflect on you and all that is good in your life. Jesus wants you to know that you are loved, and nothing is too great that He can't handle it for you.