Christmas 2020
Dear Friends and Family,
We gave up our winter apartment in Loma Linda and came home to Maryland because of the virus. Now we stay home, visited only by our wild animals. Local deer, fox, squirrels, raccoons, chippies, and numerous birds enjoy what we share with them. I am thankful for them all. In a world in turmoil we have a home in the woods, days of sunshine and rain, sunsets, nature, and we will experience spring for the first time in five years. There will be daffodils, peonies, hummingbirds returning, nesting birds. Most of all we are thankful for each other. We remain thankful there have been no wars this year, and a way out from the plague engulfing us.

It's a topsy-turvy world like we never experienced in all our years—at least not in America. Words (and actions) don’t mean what they used to in this new world. Right is wrong and wrong is right. George Orwell seems more like a prophet than we ever imagined. We don’t even know what is true and what isn’t. We look for evidence and find it confusing. We judge others by our biases. Even Christians don’t forgive while claiming to be right. They become part of the problem.

Whatever ideology one chooses, it’s how we treat the different others that show true character. We hold opinions. At one time we could express them. But no more. Even sharing faith is no longer fashionable outside the church. Yet faith could change us and our attitudes.

As we celebrate Christ’s birth (or make it just a holiday), Christmas remains a time for contact even at a distance. God forgave us our rebellion against love and goodness. May we forgive as we read the Lord’s Prayer. May we embrace those who suffer during these times and the heroes who care for them. Fire, storms, violence, plague, intolerance—nothing can separate us from the love of God and His promise of eternal life.

Blessings, Ella and Walt