A look back at 2021
It was a stressful, agonizing year. In March, an ambulance took my mother to the hospital and then later to a rehab facility. Sadly, she could no longer stay in the home she’d been in for seventeen years, so rehab transferred her to a long-term care facility. And we knew it was the final stop.
Life is a vapor. It passes by so quickly. And it was never clearer to me than this year.
From April until September, I traveled to my mother’s condo eight hours away and spent two weeks out of every month going through the accumulations of her lifetime, which included many of my grandmother’s possessions.
My mother’s place was a showcase for Better Homes & Gardens. She loved to decorate, and it showed in every room of her home. With five adult grandchildren and twelve grandchildren, much of what my mother owned, no one wanted. Some things went to Salvation Army, some things will be sold, and some things were pitched. I kept the best of the best.
I sorted through vast amounts of paper, photos, and memorabilia that made me cry and saddened me. At one point, my daughters came for the weekend to help sort through her kitchen and dining room. With two china cabinets, one in the dining room and one in the living room, I could tell my daughters stories of the assorted items in her cupboards.
Memories flooded my soul. What I remember most were the Thanksgiving dinners. It was her holiday to shine and one we all loved. Mom started collecting Franciscan Apple dinnerware almost sixty years ago. Until the manufacturer brought out new pieces back in the late 90s, she owned every piece ever made. The collection is astounding and one I will not part with, even though those fabulous dinners are a thing of the past because family members are scattered all over the east coast. I will take the dining room set because it is something my mother cherished along with those dishes.
She set the table with fine linen, candles, and a centerpiece. She’d set the table the night before and then got up at four or five in the morning to stuff the bird and get everything ready for a meal at two.
We haven’t seen a Thanksgiving like that for twenty years. And it’s OK because I have the memories. What is sad is that my grandchildren will never know the fun times we had around the dinner table playing trivial pursuit or cards. Those days are long gone because electronics and Netflix have taken their place.
There are still many things to do before the home goes on the market in 2022, but I’m on the downside of the hill. Oh, there will be more memories as I transport the many boxes and the dining room to my home, but for now I’m coming to terms with my mother’s passing and that life changes. Sometimes daily.
I never expected that my mother would die this year. I expected she’d live for another five years, but I’m thankful I also made sure everything I planned for her funeral ahead of time. It eased the stress when I got the phone call. There were still things to take care of, but we banded together and got it done.
Examining the past helps us to make way for the future, which leads me to resolutions and goals for the New Year.
Until last year, I set no New Year’s resolutions or goals. It seemed foolish to me. But last year, I decided I needed writing goals. I had made no personal goals, though.
Aside from the many trips I took, what did I accomplish last year?
Amid those terrible times, I wrote three books and took classes including a month-long conference which I never completed because my mother passed away right in the middle of the class in October, and I was trying to finish a Christmas novel I planned to publish on Thanksgiving. That didn’t happen, but I worked long hours to ensure the book came out before Christmas, and it did.
I accomplished one writing goal, and that was to publish four books in 2021. Although one of them was a compilation or boxed set of the first three books in the Women of Worthy series, it still took time and effort to get it published. And I’m taking it as my fourth book. Since I managed to complete that goal, I’m making the same goal for 2022.
One of my goals for the new year is to complete the October course so I can get started on book six of my series.
My goal was to attend one online writing conference, and I attended one and a half.
So many goals went untouched this year, but I reached those two goals. Considering the year, I’m thankful I achieved them.
My social media goals? Forget it. Those went by the wayside. But that’s OK because some of them grew despite my lack of attention. And that’s a good thing.
This year, I will, however, not only have writing goals which I will monitor throughout the year, but I’ll have personal goals. The usual lose weight is always at the top of the list, along with household goals. I’ve set up a calendar with those goals.
My word for the year is… perseverance. We’ll see how that works out in 2022.
And my prayer for everyone is to have a much better year next year. Have a safe and prosperous New Year!
Another item scratched off the to do list for 2021 was baking. I love to bake goodies for my family, but this year, I decided to order pastries from a fabulous Italian pastry shop near my hometown. I realized it was less expensive in terms of time and money than for me to buy the ingredients and make them myself. The love factor may not be in the purchased baked goods, but the pressure it eliminated was well worth it. I also recognized no one really cared if they were purchased or homemade. What was important was the people surrounding us during the holidays.
Jesus Would be Born of a Virgin in Bethlehem
Jesus Would be Filled with Power, Peace, and the Spirit from Birth
A Star Would Point the Way Towards Jesus, the Christ
Jesus Would be Worshipped by Shepherds
Kings would Present Gifts to Jesus
Sunday. A time of worship and church. And we were late. We were both ready at our usual departure time, but my husband was called on a case for his company. I had resigned myself to watch the service from my living room chair even though I wanted to be there in person.
But the reason we had to be there was because we were asked to be the prayer team after the service. The enemy would like nothing more than to keep ministry workers at home and miss God’s blessings. We would have missed a wonderful time of worship and the blessing of ministering to others.
That dear brother has bone cancer. He told us how he’d been hospitalized frequently in the past month. (We knew this because of the updates during Wednesday evening prayer time).
“Because I have hundreds and hundreds of people praying for me,” he said. He told us he had people praying from as far away as Oregon and California.
When we lived in Germany, we took a road trip to Paris. It was Memorial Day weekend. What surprised us was how disconnected we felt from the “holiday” because the Europeans do not celebrate the day. And why would they? It’s an American holiday. We were given the last Monday in May off because my husband worked for an American company in Germany. Since the company did work for the military, they observed the holiday as well.
took some photos. I noticed a man with a VFW hat locking his car door to the left of me. I walked over to him and thanked him for his service (something I always do whenever I see a person in uniform.) Because I don’t speak French, I asked him if he knew why the Arc was closing. He said there was a Memorial Day procession at noon and that we should stay for it. My watch said it was barely 11:30.
My husband, Ted, sat on a ledge and I told him why the Arc would be closed. He wanted to stay for the event. I joined him for a few minutes to cool off because the temperature soared that day.
The French Police came and told us we had to move behind a set of metal barricades. My husband and I turned and moved quickly to get a ring-side spot that allowed the best view. The Star Spangled Banner faintly played and I wondered who played it. French soldiers marched to the front of the tomb and there was a French military band who came around the side and stood opposite the French soldiers. They had been playing our national anthem!
I hesitated because I didn’t want to offend him, but I wanted his opinion on WWII. I think he understood what I meant. He said that it was sad that it happened. He said he didn’t know what he would have done if he had lived in that era and that he was glad he was living now and not then. His response disappointed me, but I wasn’t surprised by it. Five minutes before the event, he and his girlfriend left. That surprised me.
As the band played the Star-Spangled Banner, my husband saluted, and I began to sing loud and proud. I heard a woman’s voice behind me singing loudly as well, and then other voices joined in. There were more Americans in the crowd than I expected.
My mother, who turns 92 in June (exactly one week after my birthday), has been slowly deteriorating.
But mentally? She has her good days and her bad days. Some days I’d call, and she didn’t recognize my voice. Other days, she was jovial. And that was cause for celebration.
’ve come to terms with my mother’s frailty and the fact that it may not be long before she’s not with us, but rejoice because we still have her… even if it’s just for a little while longer.
For almost four hundred years Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving. This year will go down in history as different from all other Thanksgivings in the past century. It is still the fourth Thursday of November as Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared it to be in 1941. We’ll still have Turkey with all the trimmings, pumpkin pie, and the Macy’s Day Parade. But it will be different. Different in a way few of us have seen in our lifetimes.
In 1620, the Pilgrims proclaimed the Mayflower Compact, which would become the basis for America’s Declaration of Independence. This was a scant year before the first ever Thanksgiving. And if you were in any doubt as to this country’s roots, check out what the Mayflower Compact says. I’ve been out of school for many, many years and didn’t remember it or what it said. But after listening to a Thanksgiving message last night from one of my favorite Bible teachers, Jack Hibbs, I looked it up, and our nation’s colorful history enthralled me.
Thanksgiving. We have lost sight of what is truly important. What do we have to be thankful for this year? Given all that Americans have suffered and lost, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to be thankful for. And while I understand the need for all the changes to our national holiday this year, I don’t have to like it. Not at all. And yet there are things to be thankful for. Like what you ask.
Family? Spending time with family will be relegated to telephone calls, FaceTime, Zoom, or any other method we can come up with to see and spend time with family. I am thankful for those methods we have at our fingertips to see and talk to loved ones. That we even have loved ones who we can call is a blessing and a cause to be thankful. Some do not. Yes, I’m exceedingly thankful for my family.
Provision? In a time where there are nations who are starving, we have an abundance of food in our pantries and freezers. Restaurants who will make your Thanksgiving meal. I’m thankful for a well-prepared meal, even if I have to prepare it myself. It’s not about the turkey and trimmings or having a day off from work (some even have two days off.) It’s about Thanking God for His Provision in our lives.
So.. we return to the core of why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Opening the door to our hearts will enable us to give thanks for those things in our lives. Search for something in which to give thanks this day, and every day.
Let’s look at the verse. Obadiah is preaching against the Edomites because they are filled with pride and it has deceived them. They boasted about their natural fortifications in the clefts of the rocks high in the mountains. They thought because their physical habitat was difficult to reach, they were invincible. A sure sign of pride.
Pride can be an insidious thing. It can manifest itself in anything in a person’s life. You name it, it can be a source of pride. The question is, what is the level of that pride. If the level of pride is so great that it affects our daily life and causes issues, then it’s time to take stock. So, what do we do about it?
Being aware of how much pride we have is the first step. If you recognize an area in your life where pride has not only taken root but has caused issues, then you are better able to combat it. If you cannot recognize the areas where pride has manifested itself or if that pride is sinful, asking God to show you where those areas are, is the best thing to do. Listening to God speak to you about it, will help you understand what needs to be done. Then ask God to help you exercise better control over it.
At one time my husband was very prideful in his job. That job and a few subsequent ones were taken away from him. He suffered some years until God showed him it was his pride that caused many of the job losses. It was a challenging lesson for him…and for me. But with God’s help, he recognized it and overcame it.