Mary Did You Know?

This is what I really want to think about during this Christmas season. It is, after all, what it's all about. It is about hope and promise, and peace that transcends everything.

An Old Fashioned Christmas

Dear readers, I was going to post something nice and cheery to leave up for the rest of the year, but the more I tried to think of something to write, the harder it became, without sounding phoney.

It is true that I wish you all a very blessed and happy holiday, whether you call it Christmas, or Chanukah, or anything else. I really do wish you peace and happiness, and prosperity. I, really and truly, am so very thankful for all the blessings in my own life. For these blessings I give thanks to God, because I am a woman of faith, and in my own heart, I believe that all my blessings flow from Him. However, even as I say these words, I know that some will think that I am saying that He blesses some, and not others, but that is not true.

The truth is that we sometimes make bad choices, causing ourselves, and others to suffer the consequences. The Bible says that times and circumstances happen to all men.

The truth is that this is not a perfect world.

So, since I could think of nothing cheery to say, I decided to look at my old posts to see if there was something there, worthy of re-posting. Ironically, I found the following one, which I posted on this same date, so I wasn't feeling all that cheerful then, either. Also, ironically, in light of the recent financial fiasco, and all the other things currently in the news, the post seems even more apropos.

I guess, in spite of all I hoped for, things haven't changed all that much, so I present to you, again:

An Old Fashioned Christmas

I know that I have, recently, written about a wonderful memory of Christmas past, and I'm sure that most of us do have those fond memories. We long for things to be that way again, and wish that we could see through the eyes of a child again, where everything is good, and right with the world. We all long for just an old fashioned Christmas.

I have my precious memories, but now, as I write this, I just cannot get into the "spirit of Christmas" that everyone speaks of, and longs for, because try as I may, I can't get into that state of "willing suspension of disbelief"-- a semi-conscious decision in which you put aside your disbelief and accept the premise as being real for the duration of the movie you're watching, or the story you're reading--because this is real life, with real people, with real emotions, and I am acutely aware of the pain which exists all around me.

This is the time of year when people try to achieve a level of perfection, which in most cases, just does not exist. They long for the perfect life, the perfect family, perfect kids. They think of peace on earth, and good will toward all men--that does not exist, either, and I can't pretend it does, because I can't forget that there are children going to bed hungry, that there are old people who are sick, and alone, and cold because they can't pay a heating bill and a prescription bill, too.

I am aware that there are young mothers, struggling to make a living for their children, yearning for some kind of normalcy in their lives, but knowing that it is pretty much a lost cause. I am aware that there are whole families who are next to being homeless, through no fault of their own, with no way out of their hopelessness.

I am aware that people are fighting, and killing each other, for no reason other than self-gratification, and I can't forget that there are wars where people are killing and being killed for the sake of peace.

I can't pretend that all of that is not happening. I can't close my eyes to reality and pretend that this is a season when everyone is happy and satisfied, and loving his fellow man. That's how I wish it could be, but it isn't.

I am so thankful for what I have, and for anything that I am able to do to make things better for others, and I will never, ever, take that for granted.
My heartfelt wish is that all of you will have peace of mind, love in your hearts, and peace in your homes during this Christmas and Holiday Season. May it continue long after the season is past.