...We Believe!

 

We've traveled past Indiana's "Amish Country" for decades but never made the time to stop and visit. Our route this season would take us just north of Shipshewana IN on our way to Rochester NY to spend Christmas with family. Sooo... we decided to stop and take a gander! We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and made haste to one of the famous Amish Buffets. Fantastic food! After eating way too much homestyle cookin' we decided, in the spirit of the season, to get a photo with Santa in the lobby.

This Santa was the real deal... as we would realize soon enough.  Besides having the legit beard and jolly disposition, we both felt a sense of calmness when we sat next to him for the traditional photo.  We wished Santa a blessed holiday and were about to leave when he stood up, looking at us both in the eyes in a slow meaningful fashion, "I haven't asked you what you want for Christmas?"  

The sincerity of the question left us speechless for a moment, the comical asks for a brand new Porsche or Coach purse quickly fleeting from our thoughts.  After a moment, Phyllis looked Santa back in the eyes and asked for a positive resolution for an ongoing family issue that has been a heavy cloud over our heads for awhile. Santa gently shook her hand and in a calm and deep voice said he would say a prayer.  If there had been any doubt of the Reason for the Season... Santa's Spirit alleviated any debate... We Believe!

From that moment forward everything seemed to flow... the busy Christmas Crowds didn't to bother us any longer... we were smiling from the inside out, topped with our holiday fun hats. We didn't even realize we still had them on... until we were stopped by a woman in a shop who asked us which one of us convinced the other to wear our matching hats because she and her other half were having a debate about doing the same.  We smiled at each other and affirmed that we had both agreed to buy and wear them for this holiday season.  We realized that we were positively affecting others - just by having a bit of gratitude and grace in the moment... We Believe!

And then there's the serendipity of events unfolding in ways that one could not imagine unless one is present in the moment... like when we realized from chatting with the local merchants that ALL businesses close on Sunday in Amish Country.  As we had already booked a two day stay, that sent Jer online searching for new activities in nearby Elkhart IN... and low and behold we discovered Wellfield Botanical Gardens Winter Wonderland Holiday Lights - all 1,800,000 of them! What made the chilly evening stroll through the gardens even more memorable than the lights was the warmth of the attendees - couples, families and volunteers who were tending to the fire pit stations and genuinely embraced the season of shared joyful gatherings... We Believe!

By the end of our trip, we were able to reconnect with family traditions such as singing along with the cast of a Christmas Carol in Rochester, sampling a variety of tasty holiday cookies, discovering a host of tiny trinkets in our stockings which were hung by the chimney with care, and, most importantly a rekindled belief that the Reason For The Season... has a lot more to do with our Attitude of Gratitude than our circumstances. May the same be true for you and yours... 

We Believe! 

PS: Phyl found our 2026 calendar in one of the quaint shops in Amish Country titled "Believe"... couldn't have found a better reminder to keep the Spirit glowing through the upcoming new year!