Christmas 2003
Over the years we have written of growing children, family matters, accomplishments, the passing of loved ones, travels and illness sustained and conquered. But this year we deviate a bit from the "standard course" of the normal Christmas letter to weigh in on matters of the heart, speaking of family ties and friends, both new and old, who have brought us joy.
Would you think that a short afternoon visit by a childhood friend had the possibility of becoming the thrust of our Christmas letter this year? But such is the case, for an out-of-the-blue visit from Mary Frances this last year brought a day of sharing the past, a day of coming to grips with the fact that childhood friends may go their own ways, but that though time and space and place often separate us, intimacies of the heart are still possible.
It is with joy that we address the Christmas cards we send to you this year. The fond memories that bubble up as we contemplate your name bring smiles to our faces and cause us to say "Do you remember when....?" The antics of the children and young adults we once were, though mostly hidden from the world of today, linger just under the surface, leading us to laugh and sometimes to cry.
Though you are interested, surely, in knowing that Jessica finally took the walk across the stage, graduating with two majors, and that Brian and his bride of three and one half years are finishing up medical residency and a CPA in Charleston, SC and moving to St. Louis where Jen will be doing a cardiology fellowship, and that David, who is as busy as ever, is on the presidency track of the AGA (American Gastroenterological Association), surely you are more interested in knowing that we think of you - not only when it is time to write our Christmas letter, but at other times during the year, too.
In this season of anticipation and miracles, we hope that you take time to listen to the silence, the promise. Though Elijah sought God in the powerful wind, the earthquake and the fire, he realized, as we do, that the Spirit lies in the whisperings of our souls and not in the noise and busyness of the world. We invite you to listen to the small whisperings within us all. To remembrances of things past and hopes for the future. To the blessings that are wrapped in the frail flesh of the babe whose birth we celebrate this Christmas.
All in all, dear friends, we are happy and looking forward. And we wish you Christmas blessings and a Happy New Year!