I had a visit from Sandy and Betsy today. This second meeting was far less awkward for me. I knew what to expect instead of spending the day wondering. It was different right from the start when I recognized both of them, and they also knew who they were looking for. Their smiles upon seeing me were the kind of encouragement I get from anyone else who visits me.
We sat down at a table and launched into conversation. I heard all about their Christmas and family dynamics around the holidays. They asked me new questions about my life here and prior to incarceration. The rest of the two hours were spent just talking life in general like any conversation you might have over lunch with a friend.
What a great Christmas gift to see these two wonderful women. I am so blessed by all the friends, some of which I barely knew before my arrest, who write me. Contact with these folks has been such motivation for me. The community of Christ is amazing and full of good surprises. I really appreciate all of you who write, even if it does take me a little time to write back.
* Three Friends - acrylic by Harry Rich
Those who walk in darkness will see a great light.
His name is Wonderful, Counselor, God of Might,
Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace.
He will be worshiped on bended knee.
God's only son about to be born
Celebrated this bright Christmas morn.
The angel told Mary "Do not be afraid.
You are with child. Jesus is his name."
In those days of Augustus a decree went out
For the number of citizens to be found.
So Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem,
But the inn they went to had no room for them.
During the night Mary gave birth
While shepherds were startled, hearing "Peace on Earth."
From an angel multitude of the heavenly host.
"Your Savior is in David town. Go now! Leave your post!"
The shepherds ran down the hills and into the town
To see Christ Jesus, Kings of Kings, with no crown.
They left and told all that had been seen and heard;
The first pastors to go out preaching the Word.
Now we, also simple, are called to do the same
Bringing glory and honor and praise to His name.
Isaiah 9:2, Luke 2:1-20
Christmas was pretty good this year for me. The cool stuff started yesterday with a meeting with a friend I had made in county jail and had written a few times. I saw Cameron in the dining hall, then hung out with him at rec for a couple of hours, catching up on everything new. He is one of the very few guys my age here that has an intelligent mind, We're also both big gamers and have similar taste in games. It's great to have a friend around that I can actually talk with about my interests.
Late Christmas Eve it began to snow, as huge front moved in. The little bit of flurries grew into a full winter storm (at least for north Texas) with snow whirling through the air in the high wind. When I woke this morning and looked out the window, I saw pasture land covered with white. The snow had stuck and I had my first white Christmas.
Our Christmas meal was even better than Thanksgiving. The kitchen is $60,000 under - UNDER! - budget so they went all out to make Christmas great. We had smoked turkey and turkey ham, stuffing and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and dinner rolls. Our dessert tray had apple and pumpkin pie slices from Sara Lee, a cup of Blue Bunny ice cream, a big brownie, and two oatmeal raisin cookies. After finishing the main tray, I only had room in my belly for the ice cream and then only because it would have been no good if melted.
Tonight I was surprised to see that the volunteers who usually come out on Fridays had actually come out on Christmas day. We had a great worship service and message as a great close to a wonderful day.
It's coming close to Christmas. That means it's time to get to work on Christmas cards. Late last week I took out some books and magazines to find inspiration. After a few hours of searching, I came up with a few ideas that I sketched out. From the sketches, I drew up two templates - one fairly simple and the other a bit more fancy. Once the templates were finished, it was time to transfer them to the cards. The fancy template took about twice as long to transfer and finish up, so I decided to only do a few of those for family, and use the simpler one for everyone else. Even then, each card takes about an hour to make.Last year I put a poetic Christmas prayer on the back of my cards, but I had trouble coming up with anything worthwhile this year. When I saw my parents this weekend, we spent some time talking about advent, which spurred me to read the traditional advent passages of Scripture. The pattern is obvious, so I took the Scriptures and rewrote them as a short poem.
Now that the two elements are complete, I can move forward making and sending out all the cards. I'm planning to send out twice as many as last year, so I should be busy this week - in a good way.
* River - Joni Mitchell
Merry Christmas! My Christmas certainly isn't what I would like it to be - locked up away from family - but this year is far easier than last year. I think I'm more settled in than I was last year and also have more distractions around me. Last year the TV had lots of Christmas commercials and specials, but this year I haven't seen quite so much. The only Christmas movies we watched in my dorm were "Elf" and "A Christmas Story". For me, less movies = less stress.
Today we enjoyed small portions of a good meal. We had brisket, chicken, spaghetti casserole, biscuits, terrible cole slaw, marble cake, sweet potato pie, and celery. It was about half the amount I got last year at my former unit but it sure was yummy. The only stuff I din;t finish was the cole slaw and celery.
The real thing that kept my spirits high was the support of all the people who have sent letters, books, magazines, cards, and prayers of encouragement. Thanks to all of you for being the community of Christ at work. May God bless and keep all of you these holidays and in this new year.
