The Life and Times of the Wagoners

We hope that everyone had a very blessed Christmas. My favorite time of year when we get to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, I hope that we all remember to celebrate the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ everyday of the year. Families come together at Christmas and I may be prejudice but our extended family is the BEST! Through thick or thin they are always there for us when we need them. This year my granddad gave me a touching, but scary present. My grandad will be 84 years old this February. This year all of us were able to be together at the same time, first time in a few years, my grandad took this time to give us a special speech. He started by telling us how proud he was of his family, tears, then went on to tell us that he had hardships and that he never imagined having a family as great as his. Next, he went on to say that he didn't know if he would be with us next Christmas, tears and more tears, but that he wanted us to know that he was ready to go and that he had been praying and made peace with his life and was ready to meet God. This was difficult to listen to. I thought that he was saying goodbye to us, I had to go outside after this speech. My family is everything to me, my cousins (Dusty and Erin) are like my brothers, but I felt that in the last several years we had grown apart. Outside my cousin, Erin, my cousin Michelle, Dusty's wife, and my Aunt Penni told me that my grandad wasn't saying goodbye but saying that he had strengthened his relationship with God. I explained to them how I thought that our family had grown apart especially since my Aunt Linda had died, and that I was afraid of losing grandad but also afraid of what it would to do our family. That night my grandad gave us the BEST Christmas present ever, he gave us our family back. I believe that God helped my grandad pull his family back together, but also preparing us for the time that grandad has to leave us. I know that my grandad has made things right with God and that is the most precious gift of the Christmas season. I also had the opportunity to really express my fears with the rest of the family, and this has brought our family closer to the way it use to be. You may be wondering why I shared this very personal story. I have decided to challenge myself and my extended family (friends included) to strength our relationships in the upcoming 2009 year. I know that relationships take work and trust, and my challenge is to be honest with yourself and then take that honesty into all your relationships, this is my New Year's Resolution!

God Bless and Happy New Year!