Tidings of Comfort and Joy

The tree was up, except for the star.  The star was lost.

Well, not exactly lost.  Last Christmas, it didn’t get put away when I took the ornaments off, and when I discovered it, I didn’t have time to put it where it belonged.  So I tucked it into a little safe place where I’d find it when it was needed.

Now it was Christmas again, and no star.  I looked in places it might be hiding.  I remembered just enough of last year to know what I’d done, but not where I’d put it.  I hung the ornaments, put out other decorations, and figured the star would show up in the process.

It didn’t.  

Two days before Christmas, I was sitting in my chair reading, when I glanced over at our tree.  It was lovely but incomplete.  Out of utter frustration, I stood up in the middle of the room and declared, “OK, I give up!  I need help.  Where is the star?”

My eyes went immediately to the bookcase.  There laying across the tops of a row of books sat the box I’d been seeking. 

The moral of the story?  I don’t know — there may be more than one.  But I’ve been thinking about loss this Christmas season, and we all know something about that.

Whether you’re the one who’s lost, or you’re feeling the loss of someone or something near and dear to your heart, I hope you also know comfort and joy this Christmas season.  

Even if you don’t feel merry.

​©Shirley K. Weyrauch, 2019