The seasons are changing and the days are growing shorter, and our
hearts and minds turn to the Advent and Christmas seasons ahead of us. It is really almost that time again! It is a new season in the year, and a new
season of our lives at the same time.
This year we will be sharing this beloved season with new friends and
co-laborers in a new congregation, but the very heart of Christmas has not
changed, and will not change, though the earth be blanketed by a thousand
winters and warmed by a thousand summers.
It is the season of LOVE incarnate, come down to earth to know us, to be
known by us, and to bring the love and grace of God to us.
It seems that we have blinked a couple of times and another year
has flown by, leaving us almost as bewildered observers in its wake. A year ago if someone had suggested that we
would move to Marathon, NY in the coming months and serve the church there I
would have thought them to be joking. Yet, in the spring of 2015 it was actually
suggested to us (and, of course, I thought it was really a joke at first), and
at the end of June we packed up our worldly belongings and made the move to our
home on Main Street in Marathon. Who
would have thought that this was even a possibility? After 25 years of serving the Lord in Union
Center (and 15 years that I have taught in Marathon) it became a reality. It was really clever of the Lord to place us
here, so that I could move in a few boxes a day for a couple of weeks, so that
the main move could be accomplished in a couple of days and the house could look
and feel like home within a couple of weeks.
What can be said, really?
It has been a year of historic proportions – or at least in terms of the
life of our family. There have three or
four events whose enormity and importance cannot be overlooked. As I already said, there was THE move. For anyone who has packed up 25 years of
belongings and weeded out 25 years of clutter, no more need be said about that
except whew! I, for one, am glad to have
it over. Prior to the move all of the
girls came home a couple of times – first to help us sort and pack, and then as
we had our retirement/farewell party as we left Union Center. (Don’t be too confused as – yes, Brown
retired from full time service as a pastor in the United Methodist Church, but
no, he did not fully retire, and so took a part time pastorate in Marathon.
Though it is “part time”, he is actively engaged in full-time ministry.) It was amazing to have all of our family come
home to “roast” my husband and to welcome the 300 or so guests that came to his
party. On our last Sunday most of the
congregation even showed up wearing purple, his signature color.
My husband’s ministry in Marathon is and has been full-fledged and
multi-faceted. He is involved in his
Wednesday evening Bible study and suppers.
On Thursday afternoons he is involved in “release time” with the
children. He has resumed his weekly TV
outreach and is making plans to post some of his messages on YOUTUBE. He continues his daily blog in
cyberspace. He is busy meeting and
greeting people around the town.
To back up a little further, last Christmas Jessica and Tom gave
us a beautiful Christmas card with a special gift inside – a copy of their
ultrasound for the baby they were expecting.
Little Rosalind Evangeline Ross arrived on July 8 – one week after her
Momma’s birthday and exactly on her 8 year old cousin Simeon’s birthday! She is a joy to both of her parents, to all
of her aunties (usually by e-mail, facetime, or telephone), and to her Grandmom
and Grandpa. (Also she has doting
grandparents who live just a few blocks away from her.) We were able to go to Abington on the day of
her birth, a couple of weeks later to give her parents a little grandparental
boost, and on the way back from Washington, DC after the birth of her
cousin.
Cousin? Ah, yes! Just after Valentine’s Day we were able to
make a visit to Washington, DC, where we received an intriguing Valentine’s card
that hinted at the coming of a seventh grandchild. After years of waiting, praying, and hoping,
Sunita and Andy were going to parent their third child (a little baby sister to
Gabe, their son, and Adelaide, their little daughter – Addie became officially
“Groth” on National Adoption Day, November 21).
If you don’t quite get the logistics, when Asha (meaning “hope”) Evelyn
Cora Groth was born on September 1 (her parents’ anniversary) it meant that they
had 3 children under the age of 2 ½. We
arrived on August 31 in Washington, DC to help Laureen take care of Gabe and
Addie while their Momma and Daddy were in the hospital to give birth to Asha and
so were able to see their newborn at the hospital just hours later. It took both Laureen and I to get both little
ones to sleep. I was grateful that I
didn’t have to do it alone. We stayed
with them for about a week before we needed to return home to our jobs and
responsibilities.
Between the births of our two granddaughters Brown and I managed
to get away for 10 days on an Amtrak trip across the country in celebration of
our fortieth wedding anniversary. It
was, in many ways, a dream come true for me, as I have always had a deep-seated
desire to see much more of our great land.
We left from Syracuse, NY on an overnight train to Chicago, IL, where we
transferred to the California Zephyr. We
took the Zephyr across the plains, through the magnificent Rocky Mountains, all
the way to Emoryville, CA. The climb
into the mountains was breathtaking! At
times we could see both the front and the rear of the train from the observation
windows.
Though I previously had no knowledge of where Emoryville was
located, it turned out to be a beautiful city located on San Francisco Bay, and
we could see the San Francisco Bay Bridge, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge
from our hotel window. From Emoryville
we traveled by train and bus to Yosemite National Park, where we stayed
overnight and took a marvelous tour up to Glacier point. The tram system at Yosemite makes the park
accessible to massive numbers of tourists without jamming the park with
automobiles. Ingenious! We loved our time there, especially strolling
along, breathing in the cedar-scented air, as we found many a photo-op. We enjoyed the sights, smells, service, and
stories, as well as the people. There
were people of all nationalities in Yosemite, but especially British, it
seemed.
From Yosemite it was back to Emoryville, and then, the next day,
across the bridge to San Francisco as we began our journey down the Pacific
Coast to Los Angeles where we caught a train to Flagstaff, AZ. From Flagstaff we took a short journey
northward to the Grand Canyon. When we
arrived it was cool and raining lightly, but soon the sun burst forth and
brightened the landscape. We spent hours
walking around the canyon rim, drinking in the breathtaking scenery, taking many
a picture. Every so often Brown would
perch precariously a foot or so from the edge.
After a lifetime of fearing heights this would have been too much for me,
but he seemed to enjoy making me think he was in more danger than he actually
was. (He doesn’t really like heights,
either!) We had a wonderful time walking
together, talking, relaxing, and taking it all in. We loved seeing the many visitors along the
trails – at the Grand Canyon there were many French speaking people. We also loved talking with Native American
workers on staff there, hearing their stories, and sharing a bit of their
lives. When we returned to Flagstaff we
enjoyed a short walk around the “city center” where we saw for the first time a
“party bike” filled with many passengers who were all peddling their
multi-wheeled conveyance and having a great time.
Our Amtrak trip was the first major trip that Brown and I had
taken together without children or other friends in many years. It was relaxing and refreshing, and we were
grateful every day to the Lord for allowing us to have that time together. Really, one of the few “down-sides” of the
trip was the limited menu in the dining car, and we began to dread meal times,
if you can imagine. It was so nice to
arrive back at home and to cook some simple and nourishing food for ourselves
once again.
Brown and I have spent some wonderful time with each of our four
daughters this year. They are all
wonderful, Godly, gracious women.
Recently we had almost 5 days with Janice and Jeremy and our dear Micah,
Simeon, and Ada. We love them all so
dearly! It was fun to have Micah,
Simeon, and Ada all “embroidering” as Janice and I knitted. We trounced through the crunchy autumn leaves
as Simeon climbed some of the very large boulders “freestyle” and we all
explored the countryside. On another day
we took a small picnic lunch to share with the children near Jamaica Pond. We plan to celebrate Christmas with them a
little early so that we can share some Christmas joy with the children (and
their parents, of course!)
Thanksgiving has come and gone.
We spent this beloved day of thanks in Washington, DC, and we even walked
down to the National Botanical Garden, where there was a model train exhibit
running (which stopped Gabe in his tracks as he watched, enraptured). While we were in DC I received a very special
early Christmas gift – Laureen and I went to see Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
“Cinderella” – and I was transported back to my childhood once more. Grandpa Brown spent many an hour with a wee
girl on his arm – sometimes Addie, sometimes Lindie, and sometimes Asha. He was in “Grandpa Heaven”.
Since our
return to Upstate NY we have begun the celebrations of Advent. We have enjoyed the rich and full sounds of
the St. Petersburgh (Russia) Men’s Ensemble, introducing them to our local
community. We have also been part of a
Community Wide Christmas Caroling, which involved all five of the local
churches. We began at one church and
progressed on foot to each of the other four as we all welcomed in the Christmas
season. For many years I spent many
hours in sewing, knitting, and other “homely” pursuits as a part of my
preparations, and now I have the privilege of continuing that tradition for our
seven grandchildren. It is such a
blessing. The house is decked out for
our first Christmas open house in our new home and plans and preparations are
underway to greet our friends here.
Our beloved Advent has arrived once again! We eagerly embrace the events of the seasons
of the year, and especially in this triumphant and glorious Advent and
Christmas. We love to read the stories
from the Gospels about our beloved Savior who dared to give up paradise to come
to earth. It is a joy to focus upon the
Christ who humbly was placed on a bed of straw in order to reach out to the
people whom He had created, and whom He loved so very much.
We pause and ponder about the mystery and the wonder of the Lord’s
birth, and we thank the Lord for each one of you. Your love and your affection over the years
have meant so much to us. This comes to
you, around the corner and around the globe, with our deep love and
gratitude. May your hearts and hearths
be filled with deep and abiding love and peace.
Joy to the World! The Lord
is come!
Hallelujah!
Brown and
Alice
p.s. In our move we misplaced many of our addresses that we had
collected through the years, so please accept this mailing as our Christmas card
to you. We love to send and receive
cards, but with the loss of the list it will be difficult. We look forward to hearing from
you!
Our new mailing address is: PO Box 423, Marathon, NY 13803
