As December is upon me, and consequently the end of 2017, I'm not all that sure I have very much to add to the collective conversation. It's dark out there. I feel tiny shards of light here and there, but overall, Heaven seems very far away.

I pray.

I still pray. And with no logic, I believe. I don't think it's going to get me any points. People will keep lying, babies will get sick, men and women will be unfaithful, and many of us will be alone. Good people will die for no reason except that they went to a concert or the mall. But I will believe that there is light and peace just beyond this heavy blanket. I believe my prayers make tiny or large holes in the darkness. Like Eleven of Stranger Things when she gets her fight on. I believe that we are that powerful. That we can open passages for angels to get through. I feel nothing. I just know things.

Merry Christmas. Look at some lights or the stars. Hope. Or be the reason someone else does. Be visited by angels. Heal someone. Hug yourself. I don't think we have anything to lose.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.

Isaiah 61