Week 201
Positive post Sunday, December 27, 2020- Week 201.
I’ve given a great deal of thought to what I would write for my final PPS of 2020. It would be the understatement of the year to say we all faced many challenges this year. Living through a pandemic, losing loved ones and managing through injuries to name a few for our family, and I’m certain other families.
However, along with the significant challenges, we have also experienced some blessings this year as well. First and foremost, with the grace of God and the prayers and support of family and many friends, I am still here, able to write and continuing to recover from my accident and our daughter Stacy is mostly recovered from her surgery. We are grateful for all the support and have experienced firsthand the power of prayer.
Furthermore, amidst all the turmoil and chaos in this unimaginable year we’ve experienced, our family came together like no other time. I’m so blessed to have an amazing wife, and I’m grateful and proud of all our children for how they have worked together to support each other and us during some of the darkest moments in our lives. These have been unprecedented times and our family has responded in unprecedented ways with love and compassion.
Although we have had to learn to celebrate in new ways, we did have some noteworthy celebrations this year. We celebrated my dad’s 85th and mom’s 83rd birthdays, our two youngest grandchildren Benjamin and Juliana’s 1st birthdays and our daughter Kristy’s wedding (reception next year). We also celebrated our granddaughters Kendall and Nikole’s Confirmations and Michele’s election to the RUSD Board of Education. We also learned how to celebrate the Eucharist in new ways with online Mass, Mass outdoors by reservation and even drive-by Communion in some places.
Most recently, we celebrated Christmas and the birth of our savior in a most unexpected yet intimate way. Missing going to Mass in church, Michele and I bundled up and drove to the front of our church and watched Mass online in our car. Then we were blessed, literally blessed. Once Mass was over, we were treated to a photo alongside the beautiful manger scene in front of church and then to a socially distanced Communion service including a blessing from our Pastor Fr. Erik. We had only been to receive Communion at church one time since March, so this was a very spiritual and emotional experience for us, and one that I will never forget (including Fr. Gino playing the innkeeper on the balcony of the parish office in his passionate and theatrical way).
Reflecting on the birth of our Savior, the unexpected ways we celebrated and the many challenges our family has faced this year, I’m reminded of the prophet Zephaniah who said: “The LORD is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.” It is comforting to be reminded we are never alone!
I have also learned not to fear and that we are not alone as we navigate through the challenges we all face in our lives from Brian Cameron, my good friend whom I’ve known since childhood, and his strong and faithful family. Brian’s 17-year-old son Gage suffered a life-threatening Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on Halloween. With the prayers and support from family, friends and the medical community, Gage is alive and in the very early stages of recovery. I am inspired and moved by how Brian and his family have embraced the good Lord in their journey. The Cameron family have put Gabe’s recovery in God’s hands, and God is guiding and responding in so many ways. Please join me in keeping Gage and his family in your prayers. Like my family, the Cameron family has also felt and experienced the amazing power of prayer.
What have you celebrated this year during these unprecedented times?
How have you learned to celebrate, even the smallest of victories, and stay connected in new ways?
How have you experienced the power of prayer in your life?