12/25/2023

Merry Christmas,

            I saw the full moon setting this morning. It was awesome & made me reflect on the Christmas story. My version has evolved over the years. Here’s my latest.

            On this day 2027 years ago, Mary gave birth to an illegitimate son in a barn. I learned today that the year of our Dear Savior’s birth is somewhere between 4 & 6 BC. A monk made a calculation error in 500 AD which threw things off by a few years & sleuths discovered this by dating when Herrod died. I digress, back to the story.

As a young teen Mary found herself pregnant. Having grown up in a temple, she had not had sex education, so she didn’t know how it happened, but once she figured out that she was having a baby, she bewitched Joseph into sticking with her. He was young, too, & was besotted.

Mary was beautiful, but more importantly she made her loved ones feel powerful, noble & smart. She worked her magic on Joseph, then she worked it on Jesus, convincing them both that they were God’s gift. I am not saying this in a derogatory way at all. Wives, mothers & sisters who boost the confidence of the men in their lives make miracles happen.

You are always singing the praises of Jill, so we know that she’s your biggest fan. Valerie probably comes in 2nd followed by Ashley & Naomi. I suspect that they make you feel like you can do anything which gives you the confidence to try.

The most popular boy, in the classroom I visit, has a mom like this. She can’t stop talking about how great her son is & he is!

Genuine praise is tricky to deliver. I need to keep working on it.

I look forward to the day when our gender roles have become so fluid that we no longer have powerful women working magic on men. In any case, Mary raised an amazing son whose words of truth & light still affect 35% of the world’s population.

            Let’s pray that his message of peace begins to have an effect in Gaza, Burma & Ukraine.

            BYBS,