I'm grateful Christmas comes at the end of the year. Because this year, more so than others in recent memory, has been rough. Christmas helps people remember, that even in the midst of tragedies, there is still reason for joy. Lately, it feels like our world is overdue for a little joy.
For news junkies like me, this year's headlines were jarring, to say the least. It was the nastiest political season of my lifetime, and I hope I won't ever see another one that sinks quite as low as this one did. Regardless of whether the election's outcome made you feel like celebrating or feel like crawling into bed to assume the fetal position, we can all agree this year's political shenanigans were an embarrassment and a slap in the face of decency.
But it wasn't just the toxic political climate. This year, there were news stories so inconceivable, so heartbreaking, that I find myself still thinking about them months later. For those of us who pray, remember the family of the 2-year-old boy named Lane, who was simply wading at the water's edge and scooping up sand at a Disney World resort in June. He was snatched by an alligator. Despite his father's attempts to rescue him, was taken out into the lagoon where he drowned. This will be his family's first Christmas without him, and it's hard to even imagine the trauma and pain they've suffered this year.
I also think about the Schwab family because one of their sons, 10-year-old Caleb, was killed in a horrifying accident on a Kansas City water slide in August. My two sons and I rode the very same slide a few weeks prior to Caleb's death, and I still shudder when I think of this boy's three brothers and parents who were likely waiting for him at the bottom of that slide.
All over the world, there has been pain. In March, 32 people died at an airport bombing in Brussels. In June, 49 were shot dead at a nightclub in Orlando. In July, 85 people were killed when someone drove a cargo truck through a public celebration in France.
Three days before Thanksgiving, six elementary students died when their school bus ran off the road. Earlier this month, 36 people were killed in a warehouse fire in California. Hundreds of civilians have died in unimaginable conditions in war-torn Aleppo. And just last week, 12 people died when a terrorist drove a truck through an outdoor Christmas market in Berlin.
There is so much pain in the world. So much senseless loss. I don't know how to explain it to myself, much less our three kids.
But I do know this. At the end of the year, despite its tragedy and unexplained suffering, Christmas comes. And with it comes a sense of renewal, miracles, and -- most importantly -- hope. Our world needs hope and the sense of joy that Christmas can bring.
This year, I am thankful for so many things -- good health, a loving family, a place to call home, friends and dear readers like you who are generous enough to spend a few moments reading these words. And more than anything, I'm thankful that Christmas comes and gives us hope for something more than the world can offer.
It's time to sing (and believe) the words written by hymn writer Isaac Watts in 1719: "Joy to the world. The Lord is come."
Wishing you and your family joy and peace this season.
NAN Our Town on 12/29/2016