This is isn’t a religious rant.

I can’t imagine the gumption of  telling anyone what to believe, in this time of indiscriminate turmoil.

Although, as we watch our waters recede,  fires rise up and the sea  swallowing up  entire islands, we have the makings of an excellent addition to the book of Revelations. If one was inclined to write new biblical chapters.I’m not.

And this is not a rant on the materialism of the Western world, or an environmental  cry to melt all the arms we’ve built in the last year and turn them into windmills.  But my mind goes there, late at night in my worry festival.

But rather  this is just a note of wonder.

It hits me every year, not unlike a revelation from the starry sky. Despite the parking lot hoopla and traffic jams. Between  the forced chatter on the elevators and the lonesome sound of the Salvation Army bells on wet nights, I note:

This seasonal hysteria  is  based on the birth of a child.

And whether you believe there was anything special about that child, that divinity is a gift bestowed on one woman’s womb or a drop of water sprinkled on every one, the story is a compelling one.

A woman carrying a seed of hope. A family seeking sanctuary. A revolution born in a rundown stable.

Stranger things have happened, from babes born on farms from Chile to the Ukraine, from women giving birth in the Dubai slums  to the shanties in Cape Town.

Every child is a seed of hope. Every mother feels the miraculous nature and heavy responsibility of ushering a citizen into the world. Every family seeks  solace at some point in their journey.

This story is universal.

Every day we struggle to keep the door of our hearts open, a light on in the inn.

Every Christmas is a chance to see our reflection in the shiny windows, and note our part in the drama the world plays out, day after day ,year after year.

Are we willing to have our hopes pinned to a child, born in difficult circumstances, somewhere?

It’s a terribly vulnerable position to trust a babe to someday save us.

But an even worse one if we won’t let the child in.

A few notes:

Children Apprehended crossing the southwest border alone (unaccompanied minors) this year: 10,588.

Syrian Children living as refugees:  2 million

Children seeking asylum in Europe: 700 per day.

Unicef estimates 30 million children are “on the run” world wide.

Site to learn more: https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/refugees-and-migrants