It is the day after Christmas. I hope yours was full of warmth, kindness, and gentle companionship. I hope you were surrounded by peace and grace.
I wasn’t.
My youngest granddaughter is learning to walk and her mission in life is to grab the Christmas tree and pull it down on herself. Her parents are in a constant state of vigilance, both for her protection and to avoid my ire at the tree’s destruction. Her 2-year-old brother, taking cues from mom and dad, kept grabbing her and pulling her away from the tree—to her great and loud chagrin.
The 10- and 12-year-old grandkids from another daughter were charming and delightful and all their gifts made noise of some sort. Music, basketballs, a piccolo. We seemed to take an awful lot of cars to church… thankfully we brought everyone back again.
The “adults,” (yes, in quotes), were busy critiquing each other’s contributions to the meal, arguing football, and discussing philosophy and human rights. In the middle of it all my oldest daughter – parent of the older kids – was snoring on the couch.
If you’ve ever seen the dinner scene in the old movie, “While You Were Sleeping,” you’ve got a good idea of what it’s like at my house on Christmas Day.
And, I am so grateful.
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch staff did absolutely everything in their power to make Christmas a delight for the kids who are with us. Because of your generosity, they celebrated Advent, made and decorated cookies, went caroling, decorated trees, had a Christmas Banquet, got and gave presents, and watched all the best holiday movies.
Most importantly, because of your support, they attended special Chapel services and experienced Christmas with Christ’s birth at the center of the celebrations.
Together, you and us, we did good for the Ranch kids this Christmas. Yes, they should be with a family arguing about whether you put cream cheese in mashed potatoes…but because of the collective us, they had warmth, kindness, gentle companionship, peace, and grace.
That’s a good Christmas.
Please pray for our kids and staff, especially through the holidays.
In His love,
Joy Ryan, President/CEO
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch
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