This is for you …

For those parents who have lost a child to death and grieve this Christmas,
For those parents who will be separated from a child this Christmas,
For those single parents who wonder if they can make Christmas happen, alone,
For those children of all ages who miss their parents,
For those who wonder how their babies grew up so fast,
For those who wonder where their children are and if they are safe,
For those facing divorce and wondering what 2009 will hold,
For those who know the only gifts in the house will be donated by angels in human form,
For those who will be alone while it feels like the whole world rejoices,
For those receiving food baskets in order to afford a Christmas dinner,
For those who wonder how they can start over after losing everything,
For those in hospitals, prisons, shelters, and halfway houses,
For those who have children in hospitals, prisons, shelters, and halfway houses,
For those who are abused and praying they can make 2009 better, alone,
For those who will eat Christmas dinner at a shelter or soup kitchen,
For those who wonder if your prayers are heard at all,
For those who grieve and cry and hurt and wonder and hope …

Remember this,
A teenaged girl, unmarried and pregnant, traveled with the man who promised to care for her and her baby.
They arrived in his home town, but no one, not even a distant cousin, would take them in.
Perhaps because they had heard? The baby wasn’t even his.
The world was small and scandalous news travels fast.
No one would take pity on a young girl, heavy with the weight of her unborn child.
To those with money, there is always an available bed, and they had little.
Without a bed to be found, they took shelter in a stable,
And there she labored.
No mother, no aunts, no midwife or doctor, not even a female friend to give her comfort,
During the most terrifying time in a young woman’s life.
She labored and gave birth to her first born son in a dirty stable surrounded by animals.
This could not possibly have been how she had imagined the birth of her child.

If this Christmas finds you alone, poor, scared, hurting, …
You’re not alone. If you can only remember one thing … you’re not alone.

No matter the circumstances of your life, may this Christmas find you with peace in your heart and joy in your soul.

God loves you, and so do I.