As the calendar turns the page bringing a close to the year 2020, New Year’s Day will soon rise with the sun across 26 time zones. Our planet will exhale and people will take heart in the fact that despite all of the damage and the heartache and the suffering that the world experienced this past year, we are resilient and we survived. Were we just lucky or part of a greater plan?
As Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, they reflect on the Biblical story of the Nativity, where three kings were guided to a stable in Bethlehem by an angel who told them to follow a star. This is referred to as the Christmas star, and it is amazing that tonight the planets Jupiter and Saturn will align and appear as bright as that star in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. The last time this happened was over 800 years ago.
Coincidence, a message, a reflection? I don’t know, you figure it out. What I do know is that we all really do need to share in the joy of the season, take the time to allow the peace of the holiday season to overcome us, and to grasp and hold on to the hope that Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa brings to all of us. It is my hope that 2021 will be a better year for all of the members of Local 3, in so many ways.
