Dear Reader:

Yesterday was my tenth time storytelling at the Summerville MS Chapter Christmas Luncheon! A decade! Hard to believe!

And there to greet me was Andrea Andrews- one of the first chapter promoters in our town. We taught social studies together for several years at Alston Middle School and she was diagnosed with MS about the same time I was with breast cancer. Last year the annual Christmas luncheon was canceled due to Covid so it had been two years since we had seen each other and it was such a happy reunion. We always get our picture made for our third teaching buddy, Roz Vanalstyne who lives in Indiana!

It was Honey and Mike who introduced me to this wonderful group since they, for years prior, made pottery and woodwork crafts to give away each year ( as door prizes) at this special luncheon. I am so glad they did… my adoptive family. Two years ago I ” won” the white board decorated JOY plank as a door prize that fit perfectly under the red poinsettia on the Pine Forest Inn planter Honey left me when they moved permanently to the mountains. Thank you Burrell’s! ***( Title Photo)

So many things are bringing me joy these days… but there is one special time every evening that really ramps up my personal joy o’ meter! Turning off all the lights except for the Christmas tree lights and giving in to memories of the past.

There is something good and holy about the early dark nights near Christmas isn’t there? Caldwell suggests that in honor of this sacred darkness to spend some time with the lights off while praying to be protected and nourished and formed by the God who swept over the face of the waters before there was light.

So until tomorrow… God thank you for light and dark. bright and dim. Whether I am in shining or in shadow … let me sing your tidings of great joy!

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh