This is a joyous season. Whether you and your family celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanza, it is a time of joy and celebration. But this year our joy will be tinged by sadness and grief for those who lost their lives in Newtown, Connecticut. A deranged person viciously gunned down twenty elementary children just as their lives were about to begin. In addition, six of our colleagues sacrificed their lives in order to protect their children. The principal and counselor ran toward the shooter. Vickie Soto threw her body over her first graders so as to protect their bodies with hers.
As you take time to celebrate, hug your children a little closer today than you did yesterday. Call your friends and family and tell them that you love them. And say a prayer for those whose pain is great because they’ve lost friends, mothers, wives, sisters and young children.
The symbol of the season is a tree that reaches into the heavens. What a fine symbol for the season. Take time to celebrate life.