Tidings of great joy

There is still time left to spread that Christmas joy. There must always be time for tidings of great joy. If not this year, then the next.

This has been a year filled with many changes, a big move and leaps of faith for my family and I.

As a ray of golden orange-hued light from the sunset finds its way through the airplane window to my face, I close my eyes and bask in that warm and uplifting glow. What a grace-filled year it has been! Not because there have been no hiccups, heartaches nor challenges but because I have been blessed to have flourished in spite of them.

I am off on a Christmas adventure with my children, husband and in-laws. Despite the busyness of the season, I am thankful for moments like this where I can simply sit still and just be. To think a bit longer of bright and meaningful yet fleeting thoughts often reserved for rare blissful daydreaming and reminiscing. We are approaching the end of the year and I deserve the time (We all do!) to just focus on and cherish people who have lifted my spirits this past year.

As I find these quiet moments on the airplane, at the airport or during waiting times, I put pen to paper to make these fleeting moments last longer.

With each goodbye at the start of the year when we began to tell our friends of our move up until close to mid-year when all our bags were packed and we were airport-bound, I could feel my heartspace expand.

Just when you think you already have enough kindred spirits to care for and love, you realize that there’s always room for more.

I purposely look through my favorite photograhs for the year on my cellphone gallery, keen to know which ones I thought deserved a heart icon. I soon notice a pattern. They were mostly about reunions, reconnecting with old friends and work colleagues, spontaneous catch-ups, establishing new relationships, attending momentous events and celebrations such as birthday parties, graduation and weddings, doing humanitarian work, going on pilgrimage and seeing new places.

In gist, I love the photographs where I was with people who made me smile and times when my heart felt extra special.

So what’s left to do this 2019? Say a prayer, send a message and wish the best to those who cheered me up this year, whether in a small or big way. There is still time left to spread that Christmas joy. There must always be time for tidings of great joy. If not this year, then the next.