These are the things that I say out loud.
There is beauty in this season of celebration:
children waiting for presents,
hospitality being prepared,
music floating, lights sparkling,
and even strangers smiling at each other.
Waiting is something I am doing.
I am waiting for peace on earth,
I am waiting for an end to hostilities,
I am waiting for healing and hope.
If you are there, God, I would ask why,
and lay out all the suffering I’ve seen under the sun,
and demand an accounting.
Life is so good and so ruined.
In spite of everything, I want love to well up,
still hoping for a better future, still trying,
still wanting to live, and to make hope shine
in the eyes of every child on earth
this Christmas morning.
Maybe you can be born again
even in a heart like mine.