January, 2005 - Blessings & Joy Don't Follow A Schedule

When the bell rang I opened the door. Before me stood the short, slender, blond girl friend of my college buddy, with tears streaming down her face. "With all this snow, my flight was canceled. I can't go home for Christmas. I am so depressed!"

Four years later, this same young woman ran up to me at the Mall and threw her arms around me. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" she squealed. "You know that Christmas I spent with you and your family was the best I ever had. I remember it all the time!"

We always think that the ideal holiday is one when we get to be with our loved ones and everything goes smoothly. It is easy to become depressed when the weather interferes with our plans, or when something else goes wrong. But just like this young woman, I have found that the best, and certainly the most memorable holidays were times when something went wrong.

In my family we laugh about the time when my mother came to visit us in our new parsonage. She put the turkey into our new stove, and accidentally turned the door handle to the locked position, starting the automatic clean cycle! We laugh about the time when the snow canceled the Christmas Eve service - what a quiet, peaceful evening we had! Then there was the year when my wife flew to Germany on Christmas Day and left me and our son behind to fend for ourselves. Nobody got sick! Another year my big gift for my wife was not delivered on time. Once, New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. After 22 inches of snow, the Trustees of the church I served as pastor decided to chancel worship that morning. My wife and I put on our snow suits and walked half a mile through the drifts to a Methodist church - what a sensation that created!

I have also found that sometimes my spirit is not lifted when the holiday comes. But later, I feel inspired to celebrate at some other odd time. Two year's ago a family problem left my soul feeling dark at Christmas time. But my spirit was revived when we spent a weekend at Houston Woods. This year, New Year's Day -the day to get it all together- seemed to come a week late.

So my Helpful Hint for this month is this: Happiness, joy and good memories do not always arrive when things go smoothly, and Spiritual grace and blessings seldom come right when you think you need them. So, Happy New Year and keep looking up!

Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Benjamin's Dog Joseph, Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.

For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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