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| My Passion - Issue 4 - December 2015
I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS
Mary Lou Kehoe
It is hard to believe that it has been three years since I took
one of the biggest steps in my life and moved back to Minnesota
where I was born. It was hard leaving my children and
grandchildren and there were many times that I questioned my
decision. I wondered if I had really heard God tell me to move
and could not see how leaving all I had known for so long could
have been the right thing to do. However, now that they have
all moved to Minnesota as well, I can’t help but see that God
had His hand in everything that happened.
My first Christmas with my sister was wonderful and pretty
quiet without the kids. I was quickly brought into the traditions
of her family as well as the family of my brother-in-law.
We baked cookies with my nephews – they roll out the cookie
dough. We had fun parties with lots of food and most of all
great fellowship. They kept me busy so that my mind did not
wander back to what I was missing in Georgia. And of course,
there was snow.
One of the many things I had missed about Minnesota was
snow. Crazy right? I had missed the change of seasons and snow
at Christmas. There is something about the first snow fall of the
winter that is magical. In an instant the brown grass and barren
trees of fall are replaced with a fresh coating of white snow
that brightens up everything. It is a time when I am instantly
reminded of the wonderful world that God created. It is a time
of new beginnings with a promise of new growth come spring. I
quickly realized that that promise did not apply only to nature,
but also to myself.
As God moved to make a way for my daughters and grandchildren
to join me in Minnesota, our family has expanded rapidly.
They have been adopted into a family with aunts, uncles, and
cousins that they did not know, and their lives have been enriched
because of it. My oldest daughter is soon to be married
and a new grandson is on the way! Our lives have been on a
journey that only God could have planned.
Now we all look to the holidays with a great expectation of
snow and the opportunity of seeing a white Christmas. My
wish for all of you this holiday season is that all your Christmases
be white and that you, too, receive the promises of a new
beginning from God. Merry Christmas!