The Gate of the Year

King George VI in his 1939 Christmas message ended with these words:  

In the meantime I feel that we may all find a message of encouragement in
the lines which, in my closing words, I would like to say to you: 'I said to the
man who stood at the Gate of the Year, "Give me a light that I may tread
safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put
your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and
safer than a known way."'
 
May that Almighty Hand guide and uphold us all.

He was quoting from this poem;


"God Knows" -  "The Gate of the Year"

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So heart bestill:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.

God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.

Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.

Minnie Louise Haskins  1908

Queen Elizabeth handed a copy of this poem to her husband, King George VI, and he quoted it in his 1939 Christmas broadcast to the British Empire.  The poem was inspirational in the early days of the Second World War. Its words remained a source of comfort to the Queen for the rest of her life, and she had its words engraved on brass plaques and fixed to the gates of the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the King was interred. Queen Elizabeth was also buried here in 2002, and the words of "The Gate of the Year" were read out at her state funeral.

Family Christmas Gathering

On Tuesday we went up to Saskatoon for the day  to a Christmas gathering of Elaine's family  at David and Sonja's home. 

This is some of the group during the gift exchange.  

Elaine's parents

Janice and Chanel

I wore the new sweater and scarf I got for Christmas

It made a long day since we left home after 8AM and got back about 10PM.  The weather was good for traveling and we had good food and visiting.   All in all a great day. 

Christmas at Home

We had our Christmas dinner here today as we have usually been doing on Christmas Eve. Mike and Nicole came to be with Elaine and Janice and I.   We celebrate on the 24th so Mike and Nicole can be with her family on Christmas day.  Janice made the turkey for today which she enjoys doing, and Elaine made the dressing and potatoes, etc for the meal.  

After dinner we had Chris and Maryanne on Skype while we opened our presents.  Janice had her Macbook hooked up to the TV for this.  We could see their presents and they could watch us open our presents.
 

    

The family gave me a Rider cardigan made from rugby jersey material and a matching neck scarf.  I love it. It is just perfect for me.

We had a great day today. On Christmas day we will have a quiet day here and graze on leftovers and goodies, etc.  Then on Tuesday Dec 28 we go to Saskatoon to be with Elaine's family for  a Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas everyone from Elaine and I.     

Handel's Messiah

Handel's Messiah is performed all around the world especially before Christmas. This video is from a choir in Brazil performing  the final parts of Handel's Messiah -  Worthy is the Lamb - Blessing and Honour  and Glory  - Amen.     Most people are familiar with the Hallelujah chorus but the ending is just as powerful or even more.    All of the Messiah is sung from the scriptures and I love all of it.   I attended the performance of Messiah on Wednesday evening with the choir Elaine is in plus four excellent soloists  together with the symphony orchestra.    One of my favourite solo parts is always The Trumpet Shall Sound.  This year the tenor and alto soloists were particularly good.    But the best parts for me are the Hallelujah chorus and the ending  Worthy is the Lamb - Blessing and Honour  and Glory  - Amen.  These build up to full volume of the choir, orchestra with timpani and pipe organ.  I will have to listen to it on CD or DVD again before I get to attend again next December.    

Praying for Kaia

 

This picture was taken at our summer church camp when the children had their fun day. This is my friend Kaia age 8 who was rubbing my back and asking me how I was feeling while she talked to me.  I have been thinking about and praying for Kaia quite a bit  since she has serious health problems with a brain tumour and her heart.   She has had health problems all her life so she is very concerned about how other people are feeling and is full of love for people.   I want to see her again next camp running around having fun with the other children.

Happy Birthday Mary

Here is one of my favourite pictures of Maryanne looking very happy to be starting her first day of play school.   Today on her 30th birthday it doesn't seem that long ago to us that she was just off to school with her cute smile.    She has come a long way in her education since then and into the final phase of completing her Phd.   We hope this is a happy, healthy and successful year.   Happy birthday Maryanne.   

Disability Conference

I was at conference all day today on fostering a positive environment for employees with disabilities.   It was for provincial  crown corporations, department and agencies.   For the last year I have been on  a committee (called an affinity group) that promotes education and advocates for issues related to employees  with disabilities.  This committee organized and hosted the conference and the two co-chairs of our committee where the MCs.   In the afternoon I represented our company on one of the panel discussions.    Each of us on the panel spoke in response to three questions related to promoting a positive environment for employees with disabilities: the role of the organization, the role of supervisors, and the role of affinity groups.   The real value is in hearing what others are doing and learning from their successes.   I really felt it was a very successful conference.