Crunch, crunch…My feet move me forward into the bitterness of winter. The gentle scent of wood smoke tickles my nostrils as I inhale. As I gaze at the road before me, I can see that the bleakness of autumn has been covered with a blanket of white splendor.

The sky falls into black. Stars are born in tiny gems of light and my thoughts begin to turn…Look! The colors of Christmas sparkle from houses, from trees, and in the snow gently caressing my face with the touch of a feather. Somewhere there is a heartbeat in the glitter. I can sense it, something real beneath the beauty. A family delivers a Christmas hamper to the needy. Yes, the reality is there in the soup kitchen with the hardworking volunteers…and dancing in the smile of a long-suffering mall Santa.

This is the meaning of the holiday. Flickering like a candle to spite the darkness, there is love. Over two thousand years ago the gift of God was given. Then the black sky was pierced by the light of a star, a child was born, and the world began to turn. Crunch…Crunch…My feet move me onward into the bitterness of winter. Yet, somehow…somehow…the chill of it has faded.