It's been a long time since I've written here...almost a year!
This past year, 2020, was a strange year and really, 2021 hasn't been much different.
There have still been lockdowns
The virus is still here
I'm still mandated to wear a mask in public
I can't travel to New Brunswick to see our kids/grandkids
Get togethers are rare
Visits with friends are pretty much non-existent
Fear exists in so many all around me
Isolation has become the new norm
Don't touch...don't hug...don't get close
Wash your hands
Yet in the midst of all of this what I have pondered lately is...
SACRIFICE
What does it mean to truly sacrifice?
Oh I've had to sacrifice some of my freedoms.
I'm told to cover my face
I'm told where to walk
Which direction to go
To sanitize my hands before entering
To not cross the border into New Brunswick
To stay two metres apart
But what really comes to my mind when I think of sacrifice is a God who became man.
Jesus...the Son of God and the son of man.
He had everything. I cannot even comprehend the magnitude of His glory and yet He set is all aside. He entered this broken, sinful world as a helpless babe.
"He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" ~ Philippians 2:7, 8
He gave the ultimate sacrifice...His very life.
When I look at my life here on earth...the one life that I have been given, am I living it sacrificially for His glory?
Am I building His Kingdom or mine?
As I have walked out my life over these past four years being involved at the Village of Hope and now New Life Women's Home, those are the questions I have wrestled with.
What does it mean to give all to follow Christ?
It's a daily journey I continue to walk, as more and more I let go of the things of this world, knowing that it is but a vapour, here today and gone tomorrow yet humanity is eternal.
It is costly to follow my Saviour, to look on His life and live as He.
It means I give it all.
Here are some pictures from the previous year, a year restricted and yet so full of life.
Our youngest daughter was married in January 2020.
A beautiful winter day.
Our time at the Village of Hope in NB was completed and we headed back home to Ontario the end of January 2020 - exactly three years since we packed our Ford and headed into the unknown.
We could now spend in-person time with our grandkids and kids now that we were back in Ontario.
Missed these beautiful lilacs - it was taken from my Pake's lilac bush over thirty years ago and transplanted here.
My parents planted my veggie garden.
The beauty of sunshine after the rain.
Walks in the Frink Centre again.
Hotdog roast and s'mores.
New Life.
Four generations.
My parents enjoying their new porch turned sunroom - the most used room in the house now.
Beautiful flowers from Jocelyne.
The year of making lots of homemade bread.
Lily's first swim in a river.
Matt & Jill's bridal shower.
Summer drive with my husband...missing that Bay of Fundy.
Church in the backyard.
Wild blackberries.
Rescued...Redeemed...Restored...let that sink in.
New life...we welcomed precious Parker Marie into the world July 20th.
We met in Quebec so we could meet our beautiful new granddaughter.
Bounty of the land.
Parker and her great-oma.
Cousins.
Father and son.
The night before "I do."
The big day...beautiful Jillian our soon to be daughter in law.
Beautiful wedding ceremony on our own property.
BBQ and bonfire reception.
Precious Parker.
Parker meet Elmo.
A mother's love.
I crocheted this little dress when I was in grade 5 or 6, it's 40 years old!
Beautiful fall drive.
David came for a visit - he was at the Village of Hope with us - we were privileged to walk with him and see his life transformed.
We welcomed precious Samuel Martin into the world in October 25th.
Cousins.
The beauty of winter.
Precious Cullen was welcomed into the world in December, another great-grandchild for my parents.
Sarah and Jared got engaged!
