Merry Christmas!

Since my writing doesn't seem to come as often as I'd hoped it would, let me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas now. I do hope that as we celebrate the joyous birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, we will keep Him as the center of all we do. I hope that time spent with family and friends enriches each of our lives and causes us to appreciate each other more and more!

Recently my friend Karen and I were deeply saddened to hear about the death of a Guatamalan child, on the verge of being adopted in the states, by a group of home invaders who killed her and her entire foster family. Such senseless evil! This led us to consider the numerous young children that have died this year that we knew mostly by internet connections with their families. It just seemed too high a number in my mind. Plus the tragic situation with the national attention now on the Caylee Anthony case-- My heart breaks for each of these families touched by such a deep loss and grief.

During such times we must constantly remember that God is Love and God is good. His heart is grieving also when pain, suffering and loss occurs. We must cling to the promises in His word and seek His presence even more. Though I will never understand why such things happen, I can rest assured that I serve a God that understands, cares and is moved to action by what happens to us.

Yes, Christmas is a time to celebrate, but it is also a time to pray for those whose joy may be marred by grief and pain.

Read the verses of the familiar carol "Joy to the World" soon. Ponder them in light of our current world situation. Maybe you will also be thinking--how timely!