Thursday, January 1, 2015

Starting the New Year Out on a Good Note with Love Letters to our Family

It was so sweet. About a week before Christmas my daughter announced she would like our family to go to reconciliation to "prepare our hearts for Jesus." To be totally honest, we are not regular reconciliation goers, so this thought made me a bit uncomfortable.

© Can Stock Photo Inc. / SSilver
But, knowing she was right, we honored her request, and I am so glad we did! It was a great bonding experience for us as a family, plus, we had lots of laughs talking about it afterward!

The real gift came through Paul and I individually serving our penance.  We were each told to write a letter to our family affirming each person for their gifts and expressing our gratitude for them. We were asked to complete our letters by the start of the new year, because it would be a positive way to start the new year off.

For me, writing the letters was a wonderful way to slow down and appreciate my children and husband.

Sharing the letters was priceless. On New Year's Eve, we all gathered together to read our letters out loud. It felt joyful to see the reactions of everyone as wonderful things were being said about them. I'm thinking this should be an annual tradition -- only next year I will have the children writing, as well!

Happy New Year!

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