Shadows of a year, 10 days 'til Christmas

"Shadows from the light of a star," 5 x 10 watercolor

Where there is light, there will be shadows.
Or, no shadows, no darkness, no light.
Contrasts, opposites, create life. Sorry-happiness, tragedy-triumph. Failure-success. Trials-peace. The list goes on.
Read Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr, King David, and others...coming out of depths of despair, of illness, of injustice, of judgment, of racism, of  hatred, of condemnation, of hypocrisy, of selfishness, of fear and death, comes maturity, wisdom, survival, and eventual peace, for those who survive.
Or, as Jill Castilla, President and CEO of Citizens Bank told my students in the Twitter for Media Class, in the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Central Oklahoma students this fall, “You go through trials, and they’re preparing you for something greater.”
As the stars align in this month's star journey toward Christmas, the traditional, but not factual symbol of the birth of Jesus, those lessons come into focus. Out of poverty, into trial, into fear and death, came a joy and peace the world celebrates, if it certainly not always remembers or practices.
"And Jesus Wept." No wonder. They forget the star.
So, today's watercolor.