A Year In Four Pictures 
2012 . . .
      A mountain climbed – challenges, obstacles, endurance
          A kite that flew – hopeful, encouraging, laughter
      A rock carried – heavy, struggles, discouragement
          A garden that grew – new growth, blossoms, fruit
GOD has been in the midst of my life.
GOD is in the midst of your life.
                                  “I am making everything new.”
That includes me and you.

A poet once used these words to describe a time in his life:
         Anguish
         Groaning
         Dread
         Broken Pottery
Not a pretty picture, but an honest one.
Must have been a tough year.
Then he wrote,
“I trust in You O Lord. You are my GOD. My times are in Your hands.”

Step back for this moment.
See His activity.
Embrace His plan.
Walk the path.
He will sustain you.
Courage, Strength and Inspiration wait for you.
2013 . . .

Loved Til The End

Early this morning I was thinking about the people of Newtown and the tragedy they are living through. And the question we will continue to ask is why Adam Lanza would do such a thing. I have thought much about how a person could conceive of the idea of shooting children. Nothing about that idea is even comprehensible to me. Was it mental illness? Was it evil? Was it both? Perhaps so.
And yet in the face of unspeakable evil was unbelievable good. When evil came against those children, look at what happened. Six adults stood in the way and defended them. People like Dawn Hochsprung rushed toward evil and said, “No, you will not do this without a fight.” People like Ann Marie Murphy tried to protect her students from the gunman. Authorities told her father that her body was found covering a group of children’s bodies as if to shield them.
And the thought hit me – the worst of humanity called forth the best of humanity. When someone was attempting to inflict harm, someone else stood up in an effort to stop it.  Cardinal Timothy Dolan who spoke at Mrs. Murphy’s funeral quoted Jesus who said, “Greater love has no man than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” And so it was that we witnessed this truth lived out. Those teachers loved their children sacrificially. When evil rose up, so did good. "Like Jesus, Annie laid down her life for her friends," Dolan said. "Like Jesus, Annie's life and death brings light, truth, goodness and love to a world often shrouded in darkness, evil, selfishness and death."
While we grieve with the families and residents of Newtown who are watching a seemingly endless procession of funerals these days, we also give thanks for people like Dawn, Ann Marie, Lauren Russeau, Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto and Rachel Davino. They have given us a picture of what it means to love and I hope we will live in its shadow for a long time. Let’s remember Newtown, not as a place of death, but as a moment when love was shown by the sacrificial laying down of lives for the sake of others. While I cannot imagine the fear those children felt during those moments, one thing is certain – they were loved until their final moment on earth. 

We Need Christmas This Year

We need Christmas this year. 27 families in Connecticut are struggling to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And the rest of our nation is walking with them. I cannot imagine anyone in America being untouched by the horrific events of last Friday. The Christmas message of hope has never been more needed than it is right now. Or maybe not.

It was early on a December Sunday morning about 70 years ago that the future of America was totally changed. The first Japanese bombs fell on Pearl Harbor killing more than 2,400 Americans. Throughout that day, the news spread across the mainland. It was a December that was later to be called “the most remarkable Christmas of the century” and “a holiday season few would ever forget.” It was the last normal Christmas for a very long time. I cannot imagine the grief that many families felt during the holiday season of 1941 and for the next four years as thousands of sons, fathers and husbands would give their lives on foreign fields defending our nation in World War 2. Certainly they needed a message of hope during that time. 

It was almost another 70 years before then that Christmas was celebrated in the midst of a great conflict called the Civil War. In 1863, Americans gathered around Christmas trees, read the Christmas story and made the best of a very difficult holiday season. They too grieved the loss of their loved ones. Specifically, it was a very difficult holiday for a writer named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His wife had died just prior to Christmas and his son, Charles, was seriously wounded in the war. On Christmas day, Longfellow penned the words to the song, “I Heard the Bells”.  Two of the verses read: 

And in despair I bowed my head;
 "There is no peace on earth," I said;
 "For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
 "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,
With peace on the earth, good-will to men."

He needed the message of Christmas desperately. And this year so do we. We need it because the message of Christmas is that GOD is with us. We live in a world where hate is strong and the wrong seem to prevail and GOD appears to be either dead or asleep. Our lives are marked with death, fear and hurt. And it is hard, very hard, for many to face another day of sadness, funerals and grief. Yet in the midst of this dark valley, there is a light. Light in the dark is the message of Christmas.

An early follower of Jesus named John described the Christmas story in a single phrase when he wrote that He, Jesus, “moved into our neighborhood.” We live in a world where people kill innocent children. And Friday is not the only day that happened. Innocent children are held in slavery every single day of the year around the world. That is our neighborhood and Jesus moved right in. Christmas tells us that our tears do not go unnoticed. Our broken hearts are not foreign to GOD. He has felt the sting of death as a Son and as a Father. It is His presence that comforts us and His love that gives us the strength to endure such a great darkness. He always has and He always will.

On December 25 we will wake up to presents and family. When we do, we will remember the Newtown families and the grief they are feeling. And we will remember that they are not alone in their sadness. GOD has come and He has made Himself known as the Great Comforter. He will be with them. He will take them through. Immanuel – “GOD With Us” – is the message of Christmas.