Holiday Greetings 2023

(Here’s the message on our year-end newsletter we sent to our family and friends)

The year 2023 is coming to an end, and the wintry air is blowing here in Iowa. Time for our family to send you our holiday cheer.

A (daughter) has moved to Florida for work and it was a mixed feeling of happiness and sadness for us. Happy that this once little girl who loves books is now working as a librarian in Nova Southeastern University. Yet we are sad that like a migratory bird she flew far from us. It gives us consolation though, that we can visit her in warm, sunny Florida when we get the winter blues.

A (son) on the other hand is in his third year of college at Iowa State University. He is currently grappling with quantum mechanics this semester trying to understand how matter really matters. He remains busy in church helping in teaching and mentoring the kids. He also started shadowing doctors in their work to discern if medicine is what is in his future.

In our home, E (wife) remains the cog-wheel that keeps our family going, making sure we are amply fed and our every needs are met – from freshly-made breakfast sandwich to sewing run-away pants’ buttons. She stays busy in whatever she finds herself involved in, whether it is a project at home, in the church, or in the community. She’s changing our world one task at a time.

Regarding myself, I’m still trudging along at work in the hospital and outpatient clinic. I guess I’ve not perfected this profession as my work is still called practice. I will be 20 years practicing in Iowa this coming February. More importantly E and I are celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary this December.   

We are grateful that we have opportunities to travel. Earlier this year we were able to visit the Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. This canyon was formed by flood waters running through the sandstones over the course of hundreds of years. The place is really remarkable, especially when light pierces through the canyon. It is one of the most photographed places in the US. The location is on a land belonging to the Navajos, and in fact, you can only tour it through a Navajo-authorized operation.

To the Navajos the Antelope Canyon is a sacred place, as they believe that the canyon is a place where the spirit world and the physical world intersect, and where the balance of natural forces can be felt.

The holiday season we are commemorating is also sacred. It is when the Divine world intersected with our physical world, where heavenly light pierced through our dark canyon. John 1:14 says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

As we celebrate Christmas, may we remember its real meaning – when God sent His beloved Son to our dying world so that we may be saved. May we have a merry and meaningful Christmas, and a happy and purposeful New Year.

(*photos taken with an iPhone)