A Thrill of Hope
Do you feel as though 2012 kicked you to the curb, sucker-punched you in the jaw, sent you sprawling?When I think about 2012, I will remember:
- Newtown, Connecticut, and 28 people killed by one — the second-worst school massacre in U.S. history.
- Hurricane Sandy - 128 people dead and over $50 billion in damage.
- Trayvon Martin shot dead by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida.
- Aurora, Colorado, where gunman James Holmes killed 12 and wounded 58.
- A September 11 assault in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.
- Penn State and its sex-abuse scandal. Joe Paterno's legacy tarnished and Jerry Sandusky convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys.
- The "fiscal cliff" that will trigger automatic tax hikes and spending cuts and our elected leaders unwilling and unable to come to a fair compromise.
- Over 3,000 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of ongoing operations since the invasion in 2001.
- Europe's debt crisis that has hit Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain the hardest.
- Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani shot in the head for demanding education for girls.
We are a weary world, and we need a reason to rejoice. Well, here it is.You are not alone. You have reason to hope, and hope pushes away despair and grief. We can mourn and rejoice together this Christmas - mourn and remember those taken from us, too soon, too horribly. But we can rejoice in the expectation and hope of a better life after this one. A thrill of hope.
Wishing you peace and love at Christmas, and always.