There’s no need to be afraid


Pink Think: ” “It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid.” – from the 1984 song Do they know it’s Christmas? by Band Aid

My son (who is now 15) when he was about a year old

I was just getting ready to take my youngest daughter to school when the song from my high school years, Do they know it’s Christmas? came on the radio. I thought of the irony of its words, when, as a nation we are still stunned and reeling from the shootings in a Connecticut elementary school.

And then I realized that the words are true.

There’s no need to be afraid so long as we put our trust in the Lord. Many things happen in life that are beyond our control, beyond our comprehension. I think of those sweet, innocent children and loving adults, and I feel like weeping, ready to give up. Yet we need to honor their memory by not allowing ourselves to be defeated by evil.

Evil exists in the world, but so does good. Like a beacon on a hill, good and light and love will always prevail.

At church this Sunday, I sat beside a friend who is mom to children ranging from young elementary to high school age. She and her husband adopted their youngest daughter.

I don’t know the circumstances of that adoption. I only know that whenever I see them together, my admiration for my friend and their family – opening up their hearts and home to this sweet little girl who needed a good family – soars to the heavens. Especially when I see her little girl come up to her for a hug and a kiss.

I needed to see that, as reaffirmation that love is a gift that we can give to others, and we get back tenfold. That there are people who do care for children and want to do their best to raise them in today’s world.

My heart is filled to bursting with gratitude that there are still pure things in the world. A child’s guileless expression, a mother’s love, a family’s circle.

There’s no need to be afraid.

Love shall overcome everything – hurricanes, crime, senseless shootings, anything that might come our way. Let us look for the good and spread it around, to all the corners of the world. In our own corner of the world.

May you and your family have a Blessed Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!