HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas has come and gone and now I find myself on the brink of 2008, thankful for all the ways God has blessed me. Of course, in recent days those blessings have taken the form of family members and time together with them. On Christmas day we sat around the dinner table with all 3 of my kids, my grandson, my son-in-law and his brother, and my 88-year-old mother. Mom flew out to Vancouver from Hamilton to join us for Christmas, and to enjoy her role as great-grandmother. Little Alejandro was a bit puzzled by all the various aspects of stockings and gift-opening, etc. He was glad to get some of his new things but his mom had to help him open most of his gifts! I think my adult children still have as much delight in receiving gifts as they ever did. We had a lot of fun filling one another's stockings - a long-standing Christmas tradition in our family. Our family circle was completed by the very active participation of my brother's three pets - 2 dogs and a cat - as we are house-sitting in my brother's home. The animals ensure that there is never a dull moment (should one ever arise!).
Alejandro by the Christmas tree

So now it is New Year's Eve and I am celebrating it quietly. The month ahead holds lots of challenges for me as I visit various churches in the Vancouver area to share about our ministry and mission in Moldova. And I am conscious that in Moldova, tonight people are celebrating what generally is the largest celebration of the Christmas period - New Year's Eve. Moldovans of the Orthodox tradition will not even be observing Christmas until January 7. New Year's eve is a time of great feasting and partying. Carolers will be coming to people's doors for the next week or two in Moldova to sing seasonal songs and recite poetry. It is expected that children come to the door, ringing a bell and singing or reciting poetry with the expectation of receiving food or money in appreciation of their efforts. Do Canadian children even still memorize poetry?? And we used to carol in the neighbourhood when I was a teenager, but do people still do that anymore? Or is that a regional thing?
I'm not sure if reverse culture shock has struck yet, but I certainly do feel the materialism of our culture. I was thinking today of the fact that in Moldova, when life is hard (which it often is), people look to the west or to some other country or situation, thinking their happiness is to be found there. But here in Canada, if life presents challenges or difficulties people generally don't look to go somewhere else, but they look to the malls and E-bay and acquiring more stuff to satisfy their quest for happiness and fulfillment. Or they seek to change themselves in some manner, to make everything alright.
Do we all seek to escape the difficulties and challenges of life? Or do we receive the challenges, along with the benefits and joys, as gifts from the Lord, meant for our growth and well-being? James said "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you are involved in various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance (or the ability to endure). But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4) How often are we willing to learn endurance? ... to hang in even when the going gets rough? Who knows what benefit it will be to ourselves and probably to another when we make the effort to stick with it, even when 'it' isn't comfortable, pleasant, or easy?
I know of a young woman in Moldova who returned to her home village rather than leaving the country. As a result of her endurance and her choice to seek the welfare of her family and her village rather than 'escaping' and seeking her own fortune, there is now a church in that village. There is a feeding program for the elderly and a children's program for the poorest children of the village.
My hope and prayer for myself and for my children is that the majority of our decisions will not be based on our own happiness but on the possibility of improving someone else's lot in life. As we have received so much in our lives, we need to look for opportunities to give to others. May your New Year 2008 be filled with the joy of giving!