Cause for Joy

The goal for a jigsaw puzzle solver is to be able to put all the pieces together. Life can be somewhat like a completed puzzle, with the passing of years removing some pieces. So, in the end--instead of a perfect puzzle--we discover more and more that pieces are missing as a result of family members passing away, their part of the picture of who we are, gone. This change, often viewed as loss, forces us to evaluate what really matters most in our living. As pieces--people--are removed from our puzzle through death and various circumstances, we begin to see more fully and clearly that: family members are treasures; shared experiences are treasures; holidays and holiday traditions are treasures. Thay are God's gift for us to be alerted to their importance before these treasures are lost. Moments and memories are the colors and hues that pull life out of the flat black and white print of obituaries. People do more than just be born and die. We have little to say about those two events. But the in between, ahhhh...there is the substance, the purpose, and the love we give and take that makes life worth living. Such are the experiences of Christmases with family and friends; they are to be enjoyed, and they serve as a reminder that Christmas is "A Cause for Joy."