miracles and magic

 Christmas Eve morning. The day will be filled with activity. I really do have to do those last minute things, at the last minute. I find myself distracted though. Between thinking about getting the stuff done I want to get done, and my thoughts wandering to the past, I'm having a hard time being in the present. Just three lines in and I'm struggling already. The news is on in the background, droning on with more political stuff. The saddest part is to hear the reports of little children asking Santa to cure Covid. What's sad is that adults, parents, have to be telling these children that stuff. The one letter I have seen asking Santa to save everyone from dying. Oh yes it's heart wrenching, it stirs the emotions, and it is also something a child young enough to believe in Santa Claus has no business thinking about. We should keep the child in Christmas. The hope, the dreams, the wishes of a child for toys, joy and laughter. What damage is being done? They are children! 

 The weather is supposed to turn really nasty today. Heavy rain and high winds throughout the day and night. I don't mind so much, it is rain after all, better than snow. The temperature will drop soon enough and ice, sleet and snow to deal with. I don't have far to travel to get to the store. My son only lives a few blocks away. It will be a Christmas day like most others for me. My family has never had big gatherings, it's always been just the immediate family members and perhaps an in-law stopping by for a few minutes. I don't feel guilty about any of that. Life goes on, as my grandmother was fond of saying. I have a rather pragmatic approach to life. Now I hear the governor of Maryland calling the vaccine, vials of hope. What message is that sending to the children? First that governor keeps repeating, like a mantra, wear the damn mask, and now he is talking about vials of hope. 

 I will get focused though. I will shut out the politics as best as I can. I can only manage that for a few hours or so at a time though. There is much to be resolved. Maybe next year. Much of the chaos of this year has been orchestrated, of that I have no doubt. Forces both foreign and domestic working to destabilize the Republic. The media in their haste to turn a profit, adds fuel to the smallest fire. A constant barrage of negativity and blame directed at us all 24/7. The reporting of any good news has become a special feature. The fact checkers on social media are checking your facts before you can finish your sentence. The facts always aligning with whatever narrative the media is pushing today. A virus with a survival rate of 94.6% has shut down a world economy. Our only hope is science. That is what is being pushed as fact, as the truth. 

 For Christians we celebrate the birth of Jesus. That is what this is all about. Yes it has become more about retail than the soul. The children are looking for Santa Claus, a magic elf that brings presents to the good little boys and girls. Christmas is magic and a miracle. When I was small I was first taught about magic. Magic isn't real, it is supposed to fool you, it is just fun. That's why the magician puts on a show, to fool you. And sometimes you almost believe it at the same time you know it isn't real. Santa Claus is magic. But I was also taught that Jesus was a miracle and miracles are real. You could ask for a miracle, but that didn't mean you were going to get it, sorta like Santa, you had to be a good kid. You had to believe, really believe though. That is the magical part. You have to believe in the miracle, not the magic. Santa Claus can't bring you a miracle! Whatever Santa brings is made by man, miracles are made by God. And in that lies the hope of the world. Hope does not come in vials, hope comes in belief. Tonight we will once again celebrate the birth of hope, of salvation. It's not the magic of Christmas, it is the miracle we celebrate.