It's Christmas Eve... Almost 11:30pm. I'm at midnight mass at a local Parrish. The room is filled with an ambiance of love. People are chattering... The beautiful organ hymn of Angel Gabriel plays softly in the background. Everyone is waiting with anticipation for the service to begin.
The bells ring signifying the start of Mass. Father steps forward to begin. He speaks of this being a time to reflect on 2015 affirming that for him, 'hope' and 'renewal' are two key elements! I wonder if these elements reflect my year...? Most certainly 'renewal' and in every sense of the word... Renewal has been my 2015! Gee... What have I renewed this year...??? My whole life! I have changed almost every facet of my life! My job... My home... My finances... My geography... My interests... My health... My outlook on life... My world! Everything has been renewed and changed.... For the better! The person I was this time last year in 2014 Christmas Eve is not the person sitting here in this service. But yet something is still familiar about me. I am me. Who I am, is me! Then I think back further... The person I was Christmas 2013 at midnight... Let me give you some insight. I had almost polished a bottle of red on the balcony at a beautiful resort in Fiji... all alone, wondering what had happened to my world! My world had come crashing down. I remember thinking to myself then... All I have is 'hope'! And this has been what I've held onto. I hoped that I would survive. I hoped that I would get through this! Instead.... I should have been thinking... I hope for all wonderful and amazing things in my life! Hope and renewal have been the very fabric of a Christmas Eve reflection (whether it be alone at a beautiful serene place on the islands of Fiji or the pew of a church in London surrounded by my family)! I recognise these two elements present in my life... But I wish to add two more... Acceptance and gratitude. We must accept the hand we are dealt and play our cards accordingly. The other... Always be grateful for the life we have. We have one life here. Accept and be grateful! Hope, renewal, acceptance and gratitude... All elements encompass my 2015! I wonder what brilliance 2016 will offer!
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