Last Christmas was agonizing as we stood by my brother’s wife encountering her last days on this earth! Enduring a hospital stay over Christmas, her cancer journey was soon coming to an end. She was able to see this year (2021) come into being and 24 days later, graduated to her eternal reward.

It has taken months of allowing the Lord to bring a healing bomb to my soul through His Word and learning to have a right perspective as I give Him the pain, enabling me to rejoice in whatsoever He deems best. As I think on that time, I praise Him for giving me the gift of time! Since living several states away keep me from seeing family often, God gave me an absolutely wonderful gift of time with her. I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving 2020 with her and stay throughout December.

However, quite shockingly, the first of September brought more agonizing news. My brother’s 23-year-old son was diagnosed with Leukemia. Like Job in the Bible, life’s trials can seem more than we are able to bear and certainly hard to understand. But God never turns His back on us. He is always present ready to bear us up and teach us to trust Him instead of leaning on our understanding. There certainly have been days of mourning the setbacks that have come! But today, December 8, 2021, God gave us an exceedingly, abundant gift! The gift of: REMISSION! His cancer is in remission!

Last Christmas was heartbreaking, in many ways we will always carry that with us. But this year, it feels like we were given breath! We just might bring down the house with Praise to our Heavenly Father!

Thank you so much, Heavenly Father, for this Christmas:  A Breath of Heaven being sent down! Breathe it in! Proclaim the goodness of our glorious Savior and King! He came so we always have something to rejoice in, no matter the circumstances of this fleeting-life; We CAN REJOICE!

Breath of heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of heaven.
Breath of heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness,
For you are holy.
Breath of heaven.

Rejoice the Lord is King!