Dear Friends,

I am writing to you after leaving Michigan where it has been cold, and there has been plenty of snow.  It was a wonderful trip to see Joe’s family this holiday season. All around were squeals and sounds of joy. Little nephews were rambunctiously taking in the season catching up with each other and making childhood memories.  They were gleefully running through the house. Happily rolling in the snow. Really appreciating their time together. The sound of the delight will stay with me as memories to remind me to pray for them and reflect on the specialness of each one’s life. I hope you have had great experiences and will have taken the opportunity to create wonderful memories with family and friends. Gratitude for these events and celebrations I hope fill your hearts.

But our hearts can interact with this world in its painful ways as well. Today I read on Facebook that three of my friends from Raleigh had died suddenly.  I don’t know the details of what happened, but I know their lives had a positive spiritual impact on the people who had surrounded them. That kind of goodness and kindness leaves the world more healed, but the loss is so very heavy. Life is so very short.

Having these two events happen so close together means a lot of processing and a chance to learn spiritual lessons as I hold both of these events at the same time in my heart. Perhaps I can choose to be like my little nephews and gleefully enjoy this life to the fullest.  Maybe I can learn from my friends to live a life of integrity and kindness.   They were always authentic and had great integrity.

I hope there are holiday experiences and other events that you will cherish.  Taking time to reflect on them is important. Perhaps this holiday season affected your life and those around you in gentle and subtle ways.  May each memory inform your life with goodness. Maybe you have spiritually influenced the lives around you by being authentic and present during these special days of the year.  We can choose to learn from life and take in its richness and depth of meaning, allowing it to teach us, and for each moment to have meaning and possibility for growth or joy.

We have a new year ahead of us now.  Maybe we can dedicate this year to authenticity, to joy, to living a good life. Maybe it is about stopping to process all the good in our lives, even the painful events that remind us of the good in life.

May 2026 be a wonderful year for you of authentic growth and gleeful presence. May you truly experience the year, and as we reflect on 2025, may we be grateful for the lessons learned and the growing experiences life has offered to us.

Sincerely,

Leigh