Fall is coming to its final days. Last week it felt like midwinter. Now it is raining and nearly 50 degrees. Change is happening. At this time of year, it occurs to me that Christmas will soon be here, and then it will be in our rearview mirror.

Elusive it is this Christmas Thing. We feel it in a song. We see it in a child’s eyes. A smile brightens our holiday. It can be found in the strangest of places. It can hide in plain sight.

Watching Jonathon portraying a Wiseman in the Church Christmas Pagent followed by a potluck with Lee and Jennifer. Little Lambs for our Nativity. The Cigar Bar at Paducah and Jamaican Meatloaf. The uneven brick streets and sidewalks of St. Charles. The gift of peace in the child-like eyes of the old.

Christmas Hope is the reason for the Season. We seek a land of progress not regress. Going forward is our goal. Our life parameters do not fit everyone…one size does not fit all.

Within each of us, there is a battle. Positive and negative thoughts vie for our attention throughout our days. Some live in the eternal night of discontent. Others choose to see the light. No matter how hard we try we will never be everyone’s cup of tea. We are an acquired taste.

A little girl sits by the heating grate outside the Broadway Theatre. She is ill-clad and cold. Her brother has gone to the Homeless shelter to see if there is room ‘In The Inn.’ Carolers sing across the street. Tears are in her eyes as they sing, ‘Away in a manger no crib for a bed the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head…’