Four days 'till Christmas--never 'alone'

"...since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses... ." --Hebrews 12:1

"They walk with us" 5 by 7 watercolor, card

We are not alone at Christmastime or any other time when you think deeply about it. We may be by ourselves, or wishing we were with others, or feeling lonely, but... .
Travel into the Southwest and visit the ruins of the Anasazi, and you can sense what we would call ghosts, but today's Native Americans will tell you those places are not vacant, but still inhabited.
We are inhabited by our genetic past, our kin and friends who have been a part of our lives. They have become a part of who we are--some are fresh memories, some are perhaps long forgotten, some never known still imprinted deep within, the way we laugh or the look of our smile, or certain gestures or talents and more than we can imagine.
In a sense, they walk with us. Everyone we have known becomes part of the compost that makes us who we are today.
It is good to be "alone" sometimes, and at others we crave companionship but as we gather with friends and families this holiday season, think about all those others who walk with us in this journey.
We miss those who have left this life, or who are far away, but we are literally "surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses."