See the inspiring stories Come meet us Time to legalize weed?
Christmas

So, this is Christmas: Embrace the joy and beauty of the season, even when it's hard

We are called to acknowledge the suffering all around us and do what we can to help. How do I reconcile that with immersing myself in the material celebrations?

So, this is Christmas.

Russia’s War on Ukraine just passed the 300-day mark. The House of Representatives' Jan. 6 committee made history with its unanimous vote urging the Justice Department to consider criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his allies. Nearly 34 million Americans, including 9 million children, don’t have enough food to eat.

This week, for starters.

I do this to myself every Christmas season. I have my reasons: My job as a columnist, which requires regularly tracking the news. My marriage to a U.S. senator, whose advocacy so often feels like a fight against the odds. My life as a lucky American who never has to worry about food and shelter, unlike so many residents who live just a mile from our home in Cleveland.

'The world will be saved by beauty'

As a practicing Christian, emphasis on practicing, I am called to acknowledge the suffering all around us and do what I can to help. How do I reconcile that with immersing myself in the material celebrations of Christmas? 

There’s not a room in our house right now that isn’t decorated for Christmas, and that includes the first-floor bathroom, where a snowman sits on the back of the toilet in his Merry Christmas chair, circa 1991.

I am conflicted, looking for permission to still feel joy.

Opinions in your inbox:Get exclusive access to our columnists and the best of our columns every day

Every room in columnist Connie Schultz's house is decorated for Christmas, and that includes the first-floor bathroom, where a snowman sits on the back of the toilet in his Merry Christmas chair.

I found that recently in Robert Ellsberg’s introduction to a book of Dorothy Day’s selected writings. She was a pacifist and radical Catholic, having converted to the faith at age 30, and made a career of upsetting church and state with her relentless activism for the homeless and people in poverty. Every day, she witnessed human suffering and our collective indifference.

And yet.

“She knew what needed to be taken seriously,” Ellsberg writes. “But she was never too serious to forget what (John) Ruskin called ‘the duty of delight.’

“In the face of the desperate suffering in the world, she felt we had a special obligation to attend to life’s joys and beauties: ‘We would be contributing to the misery of the world if we failed to rejoice in the sun, the moon, and the stars, in the rivers which surround this island on which we live, in the cool breezes of the bay.’ Frequently, in her column, she cited Dostoevsky’s words: ‘The world will be saved by beauty.’ ”

So, this is Christmas, too.

Embrace the love and faith of the season, even when it's hard

Each morning, I look out the window next to my side of the bed and greet the mourning doves who cluster on our neighbors’ rooftop. They are waiting for me to fill the platform feeder in front of our porch. I appreciate their faith in me.

Help people in need:Insult columnist Rex Huppke as part of the USA TODAY Insult-a-Columnist Holiday Food Drive

Last weekend, our 8-year-old granddaughter called me on FaceTime to give me a tour of her favorite ornaments on their Christmas tree. She loves every last one of them, by the way.

Each night, our 7-year-old grandson gets into bed and wraps his arms around his recently adopted dog. He rests his head against a headboard plastered with photos of his first love, the dog who died earlier this year. If he can embrace love in its layers of complexity, surely I can, too. 

Every year, columnist Connie Schultz sets up the nativity scene that graced the top of the family TV in her childhood home. The 12-piece is in its original box, which her mom saved because of the printed declaration that it was “hand painted” and “hand crafted” – in Italy!

My list of beauty is long, and yours probably is, too, regardless of what or who you believe in. And isn’t that a wonderful thing to know about ourselves, regardless of the season.

Earlier today, I set up the 12-piece nativity scene that, during my childhood, always sat on top of the TV. It is still in its original box, which Mom saved because of the printed declaration that it was “hand painted” and “hand crafted” – in Italy! She talked about Jesus so readily, so often. I have her faith, perhaps, but not her ease in expressing it.

Take a breath. Faith and anger can coexist at Christmas and beyond.

This is one of my favorite bumper stickers: “When Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies,’ I think he probably meant don’t kill them.” It’s attached to the wall in my home office and not on my car’s bumper because mama didn’t raise a fool.

These words are the opening lyrics of a song by Linda K. Williams. Until this week I’d never searched for the song, but I found it quickly on YouTube and Amazon music. It’s a real toe-tapper of a tune that begins with an enthusiastic fiddler, and really is there any other kind?

The message on one of columnist Connie Schultz's favorite bumper stickers reminds her to temper outrage with the teachings of Christ.

Celebrating Hanukkah:The 9th candle reflects how anyone can fight antisemitism by sharing truth

My friend Pastor Kate Matthews gave me the bumper sticker nearly two decades ago, probably after my hundredth call to brainstorm how to reconcile my righteous anger as a progressive with my desire to follow the teachings of Christ.

I’m not saying this bumper sticker absolves me of blame for my occasional outrage, but I do appreciate the reminder that no matter how upset I might get with some people, I never want to kill them. I just want to write about them and ignore their hate mail. (We all have our hobbies.)

So, this is Christmas.

May it land gently for you and you and you.

USA TODAY columnist Connie Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize winner whose novel, “The Daughters of Erietown,” is a New York Times bestseller. You can reach her at CSchultz@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @ConnieSchultz

More from Connie Schultz:

I thought I ruined an LGBTQ wedding anniversary but instead was reminded that 'love is love'

Knowing when it's time to say goodbye, not because I don't love – but because I do

'There’s a diaper need, and I don’t know what to do': A family in need is often just one job loss away

Featured Weekly Ad