Holidays and Family
Dawn Powell
To me, the holiday season is all about the F’s: faith, family, friends, and yes, football. Carson and I have created our own little family with our beautiful children (and dog), and I am very blessed to have kind and loving in-laws here in Atlanta, but ALL of my extended family are in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and I don’t get to see them every Christmas season. It can be hard. This is where my faith and my church family have become so important in my life. I have never felt so loved and so welcomed as when I first became a member of Chamblee First, and I hope you all felt the same when you first joined. I call on you to remember that feeling and let it inspire you to extend that offering of kindness and hospitality to anyone else who may not have a church home this holiday season. I certainly could do with some reminding myself.
There is no one better to exemplify my “family” away from home than the Hammonds. Spending Easter 2021 with Les and Ann was my most favorite in recent years, and it wasn’t just because my kids fell asleep mid-meal. We would have spent Christmas with them the same year if I hadn’t come down with Covid a few days prior. The Hammonds have welcomed my husband, my children, and me into their family fold with such warmth and kindness and have become our dear friends. and I know I will do my best to do the same for our Ann as she spends her first Christmas without her beloved Les, just like many members of our church will be doing this year, adjusting to “new normals.” I know I will pray for those people emphatically this season.
I am thankful for all of you this season and always.