Let Christmas be a light and a guide to a better course

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 20, 2017.

Building snowmen and snow castles. Lying on the snow with arms outstretched to trace the pattern of an angel, while giddily laughing as we look up at the flakes falling to catch themselves on the tips of our eyelashes. The sound of carollers on the street corners and bells jingling at Salvation Army kettles. Reddened cheeks and frozen breath in the cold. Bright, multicoloured lights riding the eaves of rooftops and bay windows. Trees decorated in glowing light; with brightly papered presents underneath. These are some of the sights and sounds which make the Yuletide season an eternal beacon of peace, faith and good will.

The shadow of the world covers many of the corners of our lives, but in this season no shadow can live long in the warm glow of Christmas, as the best of human nature expresses itself in unselfish acts of charity, care and concern for those alone or in need at Christmas time.

The Christmas season is a crackling fireplace in the depths of coldest winter. A cozy, woolen robe and a hot cup of coffee in the morning as the children shout out gleefully at the opening of every present. The smell of turkey cooking in the oven. Laughter, eggnog and merry conversations between family members over a game of cards. Voices raised in harmony to sing the carols, timeless and new.

The stars shine down on this great blue orb as it circumnavigates a radiant white-yellow sun. While there is much to despair of in the shadows of the world we now see rising, let the ember of Christmas, that eternal spark, be a light to guide us through and sustain us until the world turns once again on new and better course.