December 2022

As I write, it is Dec. 22, and somewhere between 4-6 inches of snow has fallen. The winds are picking up, and the temperature is almost unbelievable. Is it pretty, yes. Will there be a white Christmas, yes. Does it make traveling for the holidays treacherous, absolutely! I am reminded of two truly favorite verses from the Scriptures, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7), and “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Lest we concentrate on the only reason for the season, circumstances, situations, and reality will gently refocus our attention; that God sent His only Son into a “sin-sick” world for us and for our salvation! Therefore, we are thankful! I am reminded of past Christmases and how blessed we truly are, that God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves! It was a somewhat typical Minnesota Christmas; I believe the year was 1968. My family of four lived on a little dairy farm in Southwest Minnesota. There was a strong blizzard that Christmas; one which lasted a week or more. We worried about the electricity; that it would “stay on”, and then we lost power. A little generator, smartly purchased by my dad allowed us to milk the cows. The milk truck could not come for days, so we fed the milk to our hogs; separating the cream which made several gallons of ice cream; lovingly turned out with a crank and we were thankful. My dad had a kerosene stove in our basement, which he conveniently hooked into the house vents for heat, and we were thankful. Mom heated food on top of that stove, and we were thankful. Several oil lamps and candles were lit in our living room as we sat around the Christmas tree, and we were thankful. We sang Christmas carols in four-part harmony; praising God for our Savior’s birth and we were thankful. What a joyous Christmas

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