Peace on Earth, and hearts in pieces

Besides sushie, I ate lamb, wild boar's belly, rich French food, and a pretty good chicken casserole.
And now I am home again.
Someone should go to the grocery store.

It is time, I guess, to decend into the madness that is the Christmas rush. Here I sit, all fat and happy. God has been Good to us. My biggest worry seems to revolve around what to buy for my beautiful children.
So many of the people I know are suffering just now.
Really big suffering.
I have a friend who must, by law, allow her precious daughter to visit with a man who is a monster. She can pray and cry, but she can not protect her little girl.
There is a woman I know who must re-enter the workforce for the first time in many years. She must leave her kids, and it rips her heart out.
Two families had washing machines break down. That's more than a hastle when you have 7 kids.
There are several people I know who will be alone for the holidays, again. The kind of alone that wears a person down after five, six, or 30 years.
Work is scarce for several families. Money is tight this year, and work is hard to get.
It's everywhere, this suffering. It ranges from annoyance to panic. And It feels heavy on my heart.
Here we are, so blessed.
And I wish that "peace on earth" was a gift I could wrap up for these individuals and families. Not the peace that is the absense of war, but the peace that is a balm for hurts no tears can ease.

Wherever you are, and whatever you are looking ahead to for this Christmas, I pray that you will know the love of people around you; The passion of a God Who bought you for Hmself; And the certainty that you can help to ease the load of those around you. Find someone nearby who needs what you have to give, and set about to make a difference.