Thank you all for the wonderful words you shared - while they all meant a lot to me, they did not exactly fit what I was trying to say. I finally decided that I did not have the words to express what I wanted to - so I would borrow from my favorite holiday movie of all time:
"Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry. A blazing star hung over a stable and wise men came with birthday gifts.
We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries; we celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees,
the sound of bells and with gifts. But especially with gifts. You give me a book; I give you a tie. Aunt
Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry could do with a new pipe.
We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled all that is, except one. And we have even
forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we are celebrating.
Don’t ever let us forget that.
Let us ask ourselves what he would wish for most and then let each put in his share. Loving kindness, warm hearts and the stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth."
-The Bishop's Wife (1947)
Please enjoy this gift of one small step towards Peace on Earth