{"id":1552,"date":"2013-12-22T14:45:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-22T22:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2019-04-17T07:48:38","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T14:48:38","slug":"counting-my-blessings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/life\/counting-my-blessings\/","title":{"rendered":"Counting My Blessings"},"content":{"rendered":"

At this time of year, I can get pretty sentimental, thinking of the past, and those I’ve loved and lost along the way. They may not be here to share the joy of this time, but in another way they still are, as I continue to hold them in my heart.<\/p>\n

I’m counting my blessings as we hope to celebrate this Christmas with<\/p>\n

\"Chloe

Granddaughter Chloe as Mary<\/p><\/div>\n

our two beautiful daughters, their spouses and three grandchildren. I say hope, as there\u2019s an ice storm in Toronto and the youngest grandchild has chicken pox. So, traveling from the east to Vancouver Island, where we live, will be a challenge.<\/p>\n

I’m also mindful that at this time of year, it’s easy to forget<\/p>\n

\u2014with all the running around for that perfect gift, or planning for parties, dinners, etc.\u2014the true meaning of Christmas. It seems every year we get further away from the Christmas story and the promise within it: peace and good will toward all men.<\/p>\n

Though Rob and I, and our eldest grandchild, Michael<\/a>\u2014he\u2019s the filmmaker\u2014are no longer regular church goers, our two granddaughters are still active at Church of the Holy Trinity<\/a> in Toronto. They play their parts in that church\u2019s Christmas Story, as they\u2019ve done every year since they were babies. When they were that tiny, they played baby Jesus. When they were older, shepherds, pages and angels.<\/p>\n

This year, Chloe played Mary and \"Angel_Gabriel_BlueMary_header_1\"<\/a>Mimi was an angel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This season also reminds me of Christmases past. When our daughters were still at home, we\u2019d celebrate Christmas Eve with a bible reading of the Holy birth, followed by a reading from the book, A Northern Nativity. In it, the stories were illustrated by Ukrainian Canadian painter William Kurelek<\/a>, who depicted Jesus as white, black \"Northernor first nations\u2014born in a boxcar, an igloo, or a shack. After the readings, we\u2019d sing Christmas carols, ending with Silent Night with all the lights off except for the ones on\u00a0 the Christmas tree.<\/p>\n

It seems to me, that no matter what religion you are, it\u2019s hard not to appreciate the Christmas story. Both Joseph and a very pregnant Mary were shut out when they tried to find a place to stay for the night. They were poor and unwelcome in their own land, as unfortunately too many still are in our beautiful world. The celebration of the birth of Jesus continues to leave us with hope for a better future for all mankind. \u00a0This Youtube video I found shows the love and humanity in this story, that William Kurelek illustrated so well. The composition is by Chris de Burgh<\/a>. Enjoy.<\/p>\n