As we reflect on the opportunities that we have encountered through the challenges of the past year, and as we hope for a better and brighter new year, we are struck that everyone is facing challenges. Everyone has their struggles, and this year has been extremely challenging for most everyone.
As we embarked on this lifestyle change in 2008, before the economy collapsed, we were hopeful. We were moving to a place we wanted to move, for a lifestyle change we really wanted. As to the economics, we had good jobs and practices, good credit, a great house for sale in a great location, and the ability to sell additional land at the farm if we needed too. Our assumption were that all of these things would hold, and that everything would work out fine.
Then the assumptions upon which we had based our plans began to become unraveled. Hurricane Ike ravaged our Houston house just before it went on the market. Then the economy, and the real estate market collapsed. Suddenly, we found ourselves unable to sell the house, and had to hold it. With the economic collapse, people tightened their belts, and did not travel as much, so the assumptions we had about occupancy of our tourist cabins also did not pan out, even though they were very conservative. Bev has her job, and I have my practice, but the practice, albeit it busy, has to struggle with collection issues from our clients like never before -- as everyone else feels the economic pressure that we feel. This is but one story; ours. As we said at the beginning there are as many stories as there are people.
And so, as Dolly Parton would say, it is a hard candy Christmas or, to borrow another phrase, these are the "salad days." And as difficult as that is, we can and should find joy in the midst of all of this uncertainty this holiday season.
For us, we have one another, our farm, our animals. We get to live where we choose, and do what we choose. Surely we can rent that house, if we cannot quickly sell it. Surely we can cut back, here and there, and get back on top of our finances. As we look ahead to the New Year, we are probably all thinking of ways that we can retake control over our lives. I know that we are.
But maybe we can set some of that aside, just for a week or so, and thank God for what we still have, rather than stew so much about what we are going to do because of what we no longer have. At bottom, the Christmas season is not really about fancy, expensive presents, fancy parties, and luxury. It is a time to be with people we love, and to tell them that we love them. It is a time to reflect on miracles -- not only the miracle of miracles that is the reason for the holiday in the first instance, but the miracles that still happen every day, right here, where each of us live. There is no more humble beginning that the story of a boy king born in a stable to unwed parents. Out of what must have seemed like a mess can world and life changing miracles. Of of our own current difficulties can come miracles as well, internally and externally.
As we go through this season we will cling to one another, try to keep the other's chin up, enjoy the presence of family, and generally do a lot of trying to make our own fun. We are farmers and ranchers so we will be well feed, from what we grow and raise. We will take joy in sharing our abundance, the only abundance we have right now, with others that we know and some who we do not know. We will do simply things, like doing chores together and perhaps making soap or canning something. We will focus on the things that matter most, and only the things we can control. We cannot fix the economy, even for ourselves, over a Christmas holiday. That should and will have to wait for another day. Not now; it is Christmas.
May the peace of the Lord and the true spirit of Christmas infect your heart this season, so that you experience these things in such abundance that you cannot help but share them. Show a stranger some kindness. Help someone in need. Be good to those around you. Spread around what you have, don't worry about what you don't have. Through kindness and compassion you, and all of us, can all make a difference, and make someone else's load just a little lighter. Giving is certainly selfless, but also provides great returns. It is when we give, especially of ourselves, that we experience the greatest joy.
What comes next? Well, none of us know. Will it get easier in the coming year, or will it stay the same or get even harder? We certainly cannot say. We hope that things will get better and easier for all of us. But, at the same time, we are grateful for the life lessons that have been literally forced on us during the past year. We have been forced to do with less, to struggle more, and to cherish the real things we have that the economy cannot sweep away. We hold dear our friends, our family, and the simple joys of everyday life. We hope that in your adversity, you have found the same reflection and, through reflection, peace and a new joy. If you have not done so yet, that is what we wish for you this holiday season. If you have found it, we hope that it sustains you and you continue to find it in abundance this holiday and throughout the new year.
God bless each of you this holiday season,
Bev and Tom
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