January 2008

As I write this column we have not yet had a significant snowfall and I’m actually hoping for it to happen soon. There’s something magical about the first snowfall of the season, and having it happen when the Christmas lights are strung along Main Street is always a special treat - a Currier & Ives print come to life in the 21st century. (As long as there isn’t too much and it doesn’t last too long - because I do want to have my cake and eat it too!

January will be a difficult month for me – it’s the anniversary of my mother’s death. But I am hoping that once it passes I will begin to see the reality of what people have been promising: “It will get better” they tell me. Right now I cannot imagine that it will. I was not prepared for the effect my mother’s death would have on me, but it has certainly given me a new appreciation for her life and what her influence on me was. I imagine I took her for granted, as we are all apt to do with those we love. Having her gone makes me more appreciative of the people I have in my life and perhaps less likely to take them for granted. She would be pleased to know she is still teaching me lessons!

I view January every year as a new beginning - a time to open a new, clean calendar, and re-assess where I am and where I want to be at the end of the brand new year. I look forward to 2008 because there is promise around every corner in life and I know that things will happen in the next 12 months that we would never have anticipated.

My New Year’s wish for all of you is that this will be one of your very best years ever. And I wish the same for First Presbyterian Church. We have wonderful things in store for us and I foresee a future of new fellowship opportunities, exciting strategic planning, meaningful outreach, and exploring our spiritual walks together as we navigate this tricky road we call life. It is the unknown that makes it such an exhilarating journey. I look forward to taking the journey with you.

Until next month,
Barbara