Pushing Back the Dark - Giving to Children

I am deeply shocked and grieved by the brutal events at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut. As a mother, when I think of the loss of those little children and those teachers--it's unfathomable the amount of grief they must be feeling.  And to have this happen just before Christmas, in the Christmas season.... My heart and prayers go out to them all.

But this is Christmas, which means in a deep sense that it's about bringing light when there is dark, bringing hope when it seems there is none.  There is in me something that wants to fight back when I see this kind of thing, and I refuse to feel hopeless and helpless.  I must DO something, anything, to push back despair.  

So I suggest doing something to make a child's life better, to fight back whatever awful force there is that thinks fit to destroy children's lives, whether it's violence, hunger, or disease.  I am going out Christmas shopping today to buy clothes and toys for children in need.  And then I will contribute more to a charity that helps children. World Vision, UNICEF, Boys and Girls Club, are good starts.  Want to find more?  Here's Charity Navigator to help.  And then, there is Mr. Roger's charity for the education of young children. 

And, because this is the Pollyanna Files, I leave you with my son's favorite TV show when he was a toddler and preschooler:  Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.  This was the episode that my kid really loved, and I think the words "Fearless Authenticity" describes what he ended up having in his character.  :-)

Be fearless.  Be authentic.  Be giving.  Push back the dark.