I wish I had listened and asked questions more while my mom was still with me. She would giggle like a child when recalling a funny memory and would get so tickled at herself that she could hardly tell her tale!

In the Middle East, most common greeting in Arabic is “Marhaba”. It is said as the first greeting on the phone, in passing on the street, while welcoming guests, and basically anytime you say “hello” in other countries.

How about instead of concentrating on the outward facing image this new year, we focus instead on that which we are designed to be, a blessing.

I can’t live in certainty everyday. Vowed relationships implode, careers crater, fussy families fray, climates crack, butterflies are banished, and pandemics plunder our caged souls.

The Christmas story celebrates the birth of sacrificial love. Nevertheless, as celebrants, we tend to contaminate the purity of this season with unattainable expectations, expectations of: peaceful family gatherings, magazine worthy decor, “Bon Appetite” type food fare, and happy, grateful, tantrum-free children.

I’ve been thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus lately during this Advent season.