January 17

This past Christmas, a song played on repeat in my mind:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light,
From now on our troubles will be out of sight.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on our troubles will be far away.

Yet even as I heard myself humming the tune, I knew it was not completely true. Our troubles run too deep, they will not disappear anytime soon.

I am thankful that we are moving toward a time when family and friends will be able to be “near to us once more.” I look forward to the long lines of people waiting to receive food boxes shortening. I pray the families separated at our border will be together next Christmas. Yet I know many of us will still be mourning loved ones who died, many of us will still be hungry, many of us will be dealing with the effects of traumatic experiences.

I don’t write this to pile on more sadness. I write because I believe Charles Dickens was on to something—experiences and remembrance of them have the power to transform us. If we reflect on what we have experienced, we may find that our hearts open to the flow of grace—and we may change. Ebenezer Scrooge did not decide to live differently, he was led by spirits that showed him the goodness of living with kindness, generosity and grace. May we be so led by the spirit of Christmas Past.