This year we have completely dropped out of sync on our quarterly newsletters! The summer we had knocked us off course a bit, and our early autumn newsletter was so late that we would have had to start writing our Christmas letter before we mailed the autumn one! So in lieu of a Christmas newsletter, we are sending out a Christmas email / blog post!
Normally I write the December letter around the time of American Thanksgiving at the end of November. I think that every Christmas newsletter we have ever written, whether from America or last year from Uganda, have spoken about Thanksgiving, and of what we are thankful for. In 1st Thessalonians, Paul says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Sometimes ‘giving thanks in all circumstances’ is easier than at other times. When the sun is shining, the bank account is in credit, the car starts on the first go, and the children aren’t fighting, it is easy to be thankful. But life isn’t always like that. The second half of this year has been one of the toughest we have experienced yet. After a year of ‘Ugandan honeymoon’, we have really felt the challenge of culture shock since returning this summer. Our cancer experiences were hard to deal with, working through uncertainty, serious potential implications, as well as the surgery itself. We have had about 2 1/2 months where I have been apart from Heather and the kids since July - not easy when family life is so busy. Heather has started back into full time teaching for the first time since Abi was born, and our whole family routine has had to change to suit.
But nothing we have been through this year falls outside of “all circumstances”, and so we give thanks. Definitely not because bad or stressful things are fun, but because God is good. Always.
We give thanks because God gives a hope that is so much bigger than any of our struggles. We give thanks because that hope comes because Jesus came. We give thanks for the baby in a manger, the teacher on the hillside, the sacrifice on the cross, the empty grave, and the returning Lord. And what better time to remember all these things than as we celebrate His coming to Bethlehem.
Happy Christmas from the Swansons, and the best of wishes as we head into 2016!
