The Peak of Inspiration

Christmas 2024

Waypoint – A stopping place on a journey

This past year has been unique.  Which, when you think about it, makes it the same as every year prior to this one.  Almost everything is different.  We are all a year older.  Our children are a little taller.  Our circumstances are not the same as they were.  The vehicles have more miles.  Our memories have new content.  When we meet old friends, there is more catching up to do, and the stories stretch into the past further than they used to. 

I imagine there are some of you that have grieved this past year.  And I’m sure many of you have rejoiced.  I suppose there has been some disappointment when fears and suspicions came true.  And I hope there have been some that have experienced relief when fears never materialized.  Perhaps, to some degree, we have all experienced a little of every emotion.

Planet earth, with all of us connected by gravity to her, has traveled about 584 million miles on our circuit around the sun in the last 12 months.  Many, maybe most, of those miles have passed without incident or particular significance.  But not all.  A few moments have been monumental.  Some have drastically impacted our lives.  Some days have been engraved in our memory and will go with us to the end.  We have had our share of both kinds, the memorable and the forgettable.  I won’t take the time or space to elaborate on them here.  But I will say this much.  Thanks.  Thanks for your prayers, your support, your friendship, your love, your care.  Adding up the times my heart has been full with the things you have given to us, I am certain that records were broken.

Amidst all this change and unpredictability, I find a peculiar comfort.  As we cycle through the calendar, we come upon a few waypoints.  Perhaps some of them are privileges that we will not always enjoy, but up until now, and into the foreseeable future, they remain constant.  They are days spaced intermittently throughout the year that we can rely on to provide a respite.  They are the roadside diner and fueling station on the road of life.  They break the routine and the schedule.  They give us a reason to celebrate, to remember, to reflect.  They provide the excuse for reunions and for feasts.  They give us a reason to give.

The cross, the cornucopia, the stable.  Waypoints.  Places to stop, to remember, to rest.  A place where, no matter what we bring, we always take away more. 

We have a destination.  And, in the words of my late father, let’s “make sure steps” in that direction.  But I also think it’s ok to stop at the waypoints and to nourish ourselves with all the goodness that is available.  Fellowship, friends, and the bounty of this land.  And, as we leave the waypoints, to walk with purpose and resolve.  Not unlike the shepherds and wisemen leaving Bethlehem, carrying with them the wonder of love.  The gifts they offered paling in comparison to the gift they received.  

Anticipate, enjoy, and remember, the waypoints.

May your journey be blessed.

David, Jana, Jared, Patrick, Natalie, and Anderson.