It Really is a Wonderful Life

I admit it: for the first time in my life, I considered skipping a Christmas tree this year. After all, the pandemic will keep many of us from being with the ones we love, including my eldest son, a captain in the U.S. Army who is not allowed to travel this holiday season. After a very difficult year that was fraught with disappointment and uncertainty, I have been struggling to connect with the true spirit of the season – but then I thankfully awoke to realize that it has never been about the guests, gifts or greetings. In addition to the rites of our religious faiths, it is truly something that each of us summons from within – a magical concoction of memories, emotions and perspectives that touches our hearts in the truest sense, no matter what the particular circumstances of any given year.

This will undoubtedly be a profoundly sad season for those who lost loved ones during this trial we called 2020, and for them I offer a special prayer of healing and hope. But my heart is also full with happiness for the babies born, the couples married, and the students graduated – all of whom somehow defied the odds to prove that plenty of good things happen all around us -- even in the worst of times.

Maybe that is one of the reasons we need Christmas: to remind us of the truly important things in life. In addition to the religious importance of this holy day, there is something supernatural that transcends and elevates our spirits. It is a renewal of our faith and our hope – a bright light shining to remind us that there is goodness all around us, though we must often search to find it in a year like this.

I often see a corollary in the good works of DAR in the life of George Bailey. Imagine the students who would never have received their degrees without our scholarships; imagine the places of historic significance that would have been lost to the ages without our involvement; imagine the men and women who wear (or have worn) the uniform our nation who would not have been thanked were it not for DAR. We serve quietly and loyally in our communities, assisting students, new citizens and soldiers without anticipating any type of recognition. We never expect fanfare when we selflessly step forward to serve millions of hours in thousands of ways year after year – while, like George Bailey, never pausing to realize what a tremendous difference we make in the communities we serve, all across America and even around the globe.

I am so proud of the work that we do and the mission that we carry forward in a joyful obligation to honor our Patriot ancestors for their gift of citizenship in this republic of ours – and so I thank you for your passionate commitment to fulfilling a promise to both them and to the generations to come. I thank you for finding the meaning of Christmas in your hearts all year through in helping others to discover that it really is a wonderful life.

The true glow of this season does, indeed, come from within. I extend the warmest of wishes to you and your family – heartfelt blessings for a healthy, happy holiday.  And P.S.: we did get a tree!