Dear Reader:

As I was putting my creches around the decorative light ornament I received, as a gift, several Christmases ago…I thought again about how much I loved my HOPE manager scene…with the O containing the manager scene within it. That creche says it all…Until Christ entered the world there was no hope.

The lyrics in “O Holy Night” best explains the predicament facing our world at the time Jesus entered it. Read the stanzas slowly and listen to the significance of the lyrics within….

O Holy Night

O holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt it’s worth

The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder brinks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees

O hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine
O night, O night divine

……………………….

“The soul felt its worth” …I love that phrase. I have experienced episodes in life when I, too, was pining desperately for something or Someone to make my life feel worthy, to let me know that I was/am an important part of the universe and as a child of God loved unconditionally.

That is what Jesus’ birth gave us…hope, directions, and guidance on how to achieve a note-worthy life to the people around us….friends, family, and even strangers…perhaps most importantly strangers.

Longevity of life doesn’t promise a worthy life…just think of the famous artists and musicians who died early but left us music that still touches our souls….Mozart, Chopin, Gershwin, etc.

When I came across this story the other day I was saddened but as I watched the photo again and saw this child’s face (Clara Ray) light up in wonder and sheer delight at snow and life…I knew that she had taught us all a lesson in living… a worthy life of hope to everyone who saw it. No matter what our age, status, health, or brevity of life…we can all give back to the world in our own unique way.

If you would like to read more about her serious heart condition (born with two holes in her heart and she wasn’t supposed to live long enough to be born alive)…the story behind the story…here is a link.

Baby Who Survived Birth Defect Sees Snow For First Time (PHOTO)

So until tomorrow…the next time we feel the coils of life tightening around us….let’s remember it was Christ who provided us ‘the thrill of hope’ and the promise of a ‘new and glorious morn.’  For me…that is a life worth fighting for…worth living for…hope always sees us through the hardest times…I simply can’t imagine a life without it.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Anne flew to Washington, DC over the weekend to meet  with two of her sisters and found the sculpture of the kneeling Lincoln at the National Cathedral which she texted me. Sculptor Herbert Spencer Houck’s bronze of Lincoln was inspired by a story his grandfather told him about seeing the president kneeling among the leaves near the fields at Gettysburg.(courtesy photo)

Yesterday I stopped by Mandy’s to drop off a few things and go with her and Eva Cate to meet Kaitlyn/Tommy to bounce off some ideas for the reception after the wedding….it is going to be so special…simply because of the two wonderful people who are uniting in marriage. It was breezy overlooking the marshes…but Eva Cate braved the elements.