What Christmas?

"I don't even care about Christmas now," said Ashira Francis, who lost her rented eastern New Orleans home and everything in it to Katrina. "Once I get into a house I can worry about that." -- 'WHAT CHRISTMAS?' Times-Picayune (Steve Ritea)

I hope Ashira Francis, wherever she is right now, has at least a moment of holiday spirit, stripped away of the frenzy, the spending, and the obligations we take on for the season.

I pray that all of our differences the night before Christmas might fade away, as each of us seeks (and finds?) a peace in spirit. A window of peace and silence that comes when the world shuts down, so that caring for ourselves and others comes first before everything else.