“He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young”. Isaiah 40:11 NKJV

Seasons of Tradition

Walk His Way Revisited

When our mother passed away after fighting a battle with cancer, we were at a loss during the holiday seasons because tradition had it that Mom would fix the turkey with all the trimmings at Thanksgiving, and on Christmas she would fix a ham dinner. We would all chip in and bring a dish or two and spend dinner at our parents’ home. It was rather sad and sobering to note that our holiday seasons would be quite different from then on. She was the “glue” that kept us all together, but we had to keep pressing on as a family. We knew she would like that.

We managed to make it through Thanksgiving and Christmas that year—but oh, how our hearts ached because we missed her so much. We also managed to make it through laughter and tears; however, we were comforted in knowing that she was free of her pain and in the joyful presence of our Lord.

The following year, we continued the tradition, and our father’s request was that we cook the turkey with all the trimmings for dinner there at his home. So we all fumbled around with several ‘cooks in the kitchen’ for the next four years for Thanksgiving as well as cooking the ham dinner for Christmas. (They all turned out quite yummy, I might say.) Again, we did the best we could, but our hearts still ached from missing our mother and her place at the table. Somehow, she made the gatherings special—that was her nature.

When our father passed away and went home with the Lord, the tradition of our seasonal dinner gatherings would be at our home—even after our children were grown.

Each year as we sat around the table for our gatherings, the pain and heartache of losing our mother and our father became less and less, but they were still greatly missed. God continued to heal us and carry us through the busy ‘hustle and bustle’ of the holiday seasons, yet comforted in knowing what CHRISTmas truly is all about—the gift of our loving Savior!

As our children grew older and had families of their own, the family tradition took on another turn—and now we are invited to their homes for dinner with our grandchildren helping out in the kitchen.

Times and traditions have changed somewhat, but our God never changes—He will always carry us in His arms no matter what age we are.

Thank You, Lord, for understanding our heartache and pain of missing those we love. We look forward to seeing them again one day; we look forward to spending eternity with You. Thank You, God, for the gift of Your Son; we welcome You, Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.