The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Don't Miss What's Coming

by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner

December 31, 2014

I just love the Christmas season and the celebrations, but I miss the empty chairs of those loved ones whose presence have made Christmas and the holidays so very special to me. It's a deep ache.

But, I have come to grips with the fact that there is so much good and wonderment in this world that I just can't mope around aimlessly, or I will miss the beauty and surprises of the day.

I sure wouldn't want my children to be discouraged at Christmas because I was no longer with them while I enjoy a heavenly feast that is indescribable in this life.

It brought joy to my heart to see that our son Troy and his wife Erica are making new traditons with their girls this Christmas with their recent move to Dallas, Texas. It was hard for them and their girls (16, 12, and 7) leaving all of their friends in Oklahoma, but they are experiencing new schools, more opportunities, new friends.

This week they are visiting one of Texas' popular hotels in nearby Grapeview, the Gaylord Texan Hotel, about ten minutes from their home. The sights and scenes they are seeing are amazing as the Gaylord Texan-Marriott is advertised as the #1 Christmas attraction in Texas. With 2 million twinkling lights, 15,000 ornaments, an amazing 54-foot-tall Christmas tree, a 8-foot-tall gingerbread house, Santa's Wild Workshop Snow Tubing, Cookies and Milk with Mrs. Claus and ICE! featuring Frosty the Snowman carved from more than 2 million pounds of ice.

All new is a special bonus area - a LIVE ice carving zone, plus they can watch a masterful ice carver create amazing sculptures before your eyes, and that's just a beginning of what is offered.

There's over 1400 Christmas events in 40 plus days! You can take a train to see Santa at the North Pole, slide down an ice slide, hear musicals, all kinds of shopping and enjoy 200 restaurants. The family can each make their own art pieces, blow their own glass piece, and on and on.

I bet the girls are glad they moved forward and didn't stay home and mope around.

I think every day is full of its ups and downs and like Christmas, our birthdays, and trips to grandma's or trips to a popular place like the Gaylord Texan, there is that time when we have to say goodbye to the moment and put it in our memory bank.

The best thing I was told when going through a particularly difficult time was from a newborn christian. Instead of saying "Good grief it's morning!", their attitude changed to "Good Lord, it's morning and I can't wait for what good things might be found in this day!"

The year is ending, but aren't you just a little bit excited and curious for what you might find in 2015. I am! Don't mope around and miss what's coming.