2020-12-24

Dear Child:

In Matthew 6:28-29, Jesus notes (as part of the Sermon on the Mount) "And as for clothing, why are you anxious? Consider how the lilies of the field grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these."

This is more than God's version of "Don't worry, be happy...".  It is a reminder that proof of God's existence can be found even (especially) in the simplest things, in the smallest, even in what we otherwise take for granted or we ignore:  a field... or a lily... or a sermon....

Or even a virus.

Every pestilence brings echoes of previous trials and travails, amplified by the times:  the testing of faith, the overwhelming contemplation of the long-term, the strength of shared moments over despair.  Whether Dr. Leo Buscaglia forty-two years ago ("Life really is a wonderful series of Nows...") or Deuteronomy twenty-seven hundred years ago ("...I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life..."), there are hints of your staggering possibilities.

Consider the scale of the 2019-identified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to Earth (affected by nearly 102 thousand billion times the virus size), then you to the universe and the ages.  Now as that quiet evening more than two thousand years ago, there is the reminder:  even a baby in swaddling clothes in a modest manger can affect -- to influence and guide and inspire -- dozens of billions in time.

You deserve, as always, the best wishes for your health and happiness and for wonderful dreams about your future.  May you also be receptive to the gentle nudges in your heart and mind and soul to share the powerful miracle each child is, not least in concert with others for the benefit and smiles of all.