I was wandering around the craft store looking for something simple to use as a backdrop to a plain crèche, but not knowing what that something was. It was a “I’ll know it when I see it” type of shopping errand.

But then my eye caught sight of a sprig of bright blue acorns on branches. Yes, I know that, just like my dog, I can be easily distracted. (Hey, was that a squirrel?) And yes, I know acorns aren’t blue, but ‘tis the season to suspend disbelief. It was the last one left and I knew I had a Christmas angel vase where they would look perfect.

And it reminded me of a sermon by Father Ben Maas called The Truest Blue of Hope. Often “blue” is associated with feeling sad or depressed. Online sources say associating the color blue with feeling unwell goes back to the 1300s.

In many depictions of Mary the mother of Jesus, she is wearing a blue mantle (cape-like cloak). It is more likely that her clothing was a neutral, flaxen color. Purple and blue were reserved for royalty in Bible times. One source says that in trying to raise Mary’s status, and to connect her with peace and nature, as in sky and water, artists painted her wearing blue.

I like the idea of associating blue with hope.  Even when we have reason to be sad or depressed, believing in hope –hope that there can be joy in our lives again, that the bad season of life we are experiencing will end –  can help to pull us through.

I am having lunch tomorrow with a dozen amazing women. We come from different backgrounds, different faiths, and different experiences. The one sad truth that ties us together is that we have had a child die due to drug or alcohol related reasons.

Losing a child at any age to any cause is devastating. My Uncle Rudy died suddenly when he was 40. I was just seven so I don’t have a lot of memories of the event. But what I remember is years later when I was an adult and my grandmother was an old woman.  We were talking about her son Rudy. “You never get over losing a child,” she told me.

And you don’t. It changes you. Forever. But not all of the change is bad. I believe it’s made me more compassionate. It’s made me more patient, more willing to give people space to not always have to show their best side. I forgive more easily. And I believe in the power of love and hope.

So here’s wishing you the truest blue of hope throughout the Christmas season.

To my readers: Does blue hold any special meaning for you?