As this year draws to a close

Hardly believe it is December already.

Happy Hanakkah to those who celebrate.

I have always loved that holiday since I was a child.

I had several Jewish friends as a child. I didn't know the meaning behind the tradition then...just that they got presents for 8 days and we only got them on Christmas. I enjoyed going to Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and dancing Hava Nagila with friends. But now that I am older and have studied about the Feast of Dedication or the Festival of Lights, I think it is a wonderful tradition.

After regaining the Temple, it was cleansed by the Maccabees, cleared of all Greek idolatry, and readied for rededicated. The rededication of the Temple to the Lord took place in the year 165 BC, on the 25th day of the Hebrew month called Kislev.

So Hanukkah received its name, the Feast of Dedication, because it celebrates the Maccabees' victory over Greek oppression and the rededication of the temple. But Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights, and this is because immediately following the miraculous deliverance, God provided another miracle of provision.

In the Temple, the eternal flame of God was to be lit at all time as a symbol of God's presence. But according to tradition, when the Temple was rededicated, there was only enough oil left in the temple to burn the flame for one day. The rest of the oil had been defiled by the Greeks during their invasion, and it would take a week for new oil to be processed and purified. But at the rededication, the Maccabees went ahead and lit the eternal flame with the remaining supply of oil, and God's Holy presence caused it to burn miraculously for eight days, until the new sacred oil was ready.

It's been a rough week. My husband lost his job on December 1st.

Another casualty of the Obama administration and their direct hit on the insurance industry. He has been with the company since 1994.

This will undoubtedly change our life drastically.

We have two children in college and two who hope to someday go to college.

But I have faith that God will take care of us.

I rest in the peace that passes all understanding.