The first month of our calendar year is named January after Janus, a god in Greek mythology. This is especially fitting as he was the two-faced god who had one face looking ahead and one face looking back. He is the god of beginnings and endings, of gates and doors.
With the arrival of January first, 2008 came to an end and 2009 began. We can look back on the past year with its joys and sorrows and hope that we are better because of them. Hopefully, too, the past year has been a time of growth — spiritually, physically, intellectually and emotionally. How many gates stood between us and our dreams? Did we have the courage and strength to open them? How many doors opened for us? Did we bravely go through them or did we turn aside?
We have the ability to look back – to savor the good memories and to be grateful that we survived the tough times. Perhaps we wonder how different our lives might have been if we had accepted some of the challenges. Ever since Hurricane Katrina hit in September of ’05, a group of volunteers from Lord of Life Lutheran Church have been spending a week around Thanksgiving in Biloxi, Miss helping the people rebuild their homes and their lives. They have been so successful they have moved on to Bay St. Louis this past year. A similar group of volunteers from Holy Angels has gone to Bay St. Louis ever since 2005. This is a tremendous gift of time and energy. Not everyone can do that but those who could and did felt humbled and blessed by the experience. (more…)