This season calls us to something deeper than sentiment. It calls us to harmony over division, presence over noise, and faith over despair. We are not scattered metal; we are being shaped together. Different wounds, same fire. Different stories, same hope.

Our calling remains clear:
to stand firm in truth,
to carry one another when strength runs thin,
and to extend grace without conditions. Especially to those who are weary, grieving, or barely holding the line.

So as the calendar turns toward Christmas, we don’t deny the pain, we anchor ourselves in why He came.

Not to decorate the darkness, but to defeat it.

Not to shame the broken, but to dwell among them.

If you’re strong right now, be steady for someone else.

If you’re weak, lean in, you’re not alone.

The Forge is still burning. Hope is still alive. And Emmanuel is still with us.

~ by Benjamin McNelis