From The Innkeepers

A Look at a New Year-There Are Epiphanies Just Waiting For Us
January 2024 Blog

The winter holidays of Christmas and New Year’s are behind us. For some Kwanza and Hanukkah are also in the rearview mirror. We’ve shared gifts and feasts, welcomed friends and family to our homes, spent evenings around a hearth fire, either real or imagined. We have remembered stories and celebrated our shared history. We may have been sucked into the ubiquitous round of football games and eaten far too many “game snacks”- a last hoorah before the New Year’s resolutions of eating in a healthy fashion kick in.

What remains of the winter holidays in the Christian calendar however is the exclamation point of the entire season- it is called an Epiphany. It is the realization that in mere mortals there is a spark of the divine. It is not only the image of three wise men and some shepherds following a star to honor a Divine Child. It is the realization that we are all shepherds and kings following a sacred mystery. When we unravel the core of this mystery we come to realize that in some fashion we are responsible, visible, touchpoints of divinity. This day celebrates that there are epiphanies all around, even when we least expect them. I know I have come across humble stables in my lifetime and have failed to recognize the opportunity lying within that reality. There are times we experience flashpoints but are so engrossed in ourselves that we fail to stop and recognize them. So rather than making a handful of empty New Year resolutions that will be abandoned by months end, the only resolution that makes sense to me is to set the intention to hone my awareness, especially an awareness of the needs of others. Awareness so keen that it leads us to then be in service to those needs. Service to others does not have to be a grandiose gesture, but can be as simple as calling a friend who lives alone to check on them and make sure they are OK. Being of service could mean preparing a meal for someone who is sick, volunteering at a Senior Center, making time to be with a neighbor, or making a donation when someone’s resources are less that their needs. One time I had the experience of delivering a meal to someone whose response was “Thank you-you are a Godsend.” We are all somebody’s “God-send”. That’s what epiphanies are all about. It’s the realization that life is an extraordinary gift, and that our love can be transformative.

This coming year will be Sharon, Pat’s, and my last full year being in service at the Inn. After 20 past years, we realize the time has come for the next generation of our family to find their own epiphanies in this place. Our nephew Ryan has already come to do so, and he will be eventually joined by his sister Erin and his brother-in-law Aaron in the summer of 2025. As these months wind down for us, we hold much gratitude in our hearts for having had the extraordinary opportunity to be here and to create of this place a legacy of building connections, being of service, and experiencing many epiphany moments. To those of you who have visited us, whether for a day or for multiple times each year, thank you for being a part of the signature of our lives that we are leaving behind at the Rustic Gate.

Gratefully,
Marcia, Pat, Sharon, and Ryan