Christmas Eve 2022

And so it is Christmas Eve 2022. A major storm raged across Ohio yesterday leaving behind ice, snow, below zero temperatures, and wind gusts making the wind chills below minus 30 degrees F. A blanket of snow covers my view this morning and the wind is still blowing through the trees. It is a time of stillness and a deep quiet without the songs of birds, or a sign of footprints. Yet there are snow swirls that look like smoke rising across the landscape as the wind plays with the soft snow.

The county I live in is under a level 2 snow emergency, which means we are not to drive unless it is absolutely necessary. For the past two days, I have seen no traffic on the road outside my condo unit. I’ve been hibernating since Tuesday, resting, and thinking about the year soon to come. What goals will I set? What do I want to accomplish? How can I be a better person in 2023?

All these things are visions I have tickling my brain, but I haven’t opened my new Christian Planner to capture any thoughts yet. Usually I do this in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Today, I’m thinking about how much I’d looked forward to Christmas Eve services at church, and how that plan might be lost. With the predicted temperatures still at a windchill below zero this afternoon, and the roads still dangerous, I doubt I will venture out. I know there was a time in my past when I wouldn’t have let this stop me, but as I move through this year nearing 80, I don’t want to take any chances.

I just saw a blue jay fly across the landscape and land in a tree near the pond. The bright blue against the white and brown colors surrounding him made me smile. I’m trying my best to warm myself this morning, but the birds have no warm homes to enter. Nor do all the homeless people. I’m praying for safety for all those in less fortunate situations than I.

I just finished reading the last chapter of Luke in the New Testament. Each December I read this book, one chapter a day, as I remember Jesus, His life, and how this event in history has changed my life. I may not be able to sit inside a church today to praise Him today, but I will spend the day with Him in my condo. He is always with me.

And so this morning, I lift my cup of tea with a heart filled with gratitude and a hope for a Merry Christmas for all of you.