The Tribune

IN yesterday’s Tribune, columnist Alicia Wallace reminded us that Christmas can be a hard time for some people.

She reminded us that some are in need of extra love and care at this time – including those who are grieving a lost loved one, those who are struggling financially, those who are separated from their families, those who experience violence at home.

There are more, of course, who need support.

In today’s Tribune, relatives of two people who went missing this year and who have not been found spoke of the challenge of facing the holiday season with no resolution to their search.

Kyle Carey disappeared on May 11. There is a $25,000 reward for anyone who can lead his family to him – although there are no significant leads.

His birthday was on November 14, and his mother said: “It’s just extremely hard, we had to go through the birthday and now with the holidays, but we are just relying on each other and staying strong and trusting in God.”

Daniel Padilla, Jr, disappeared on October 2. He was last seen in a Ford Fusion car, dressed in long trousers and a navy and white striped button-down shirt. And then he was gone.

His uncle, Stephen Sands, said: “For this family, it’s not a ham and turkey Christmas for us. It’s a Daniel Christmas for us. That’s the kind of Christmas we are having.

“Maybe one bag of nuts may be in the house, but no ham, no turkey, no Christmas tree, no Christmas lights because we are still wondering where he is. Is he all right?”

For those of us in the midst of our celebrations of the Christmas season, we may all know someone who is experiencing a loss, who is looking at an empty chair around the Christmas table.

This is the time for many of us to be celebrating, but as we mark this Christian holiday, we should also act with care and love for those in need.

That might be passing on any information or clues about the missing men. It might be reaching out to hold a hand of someone suffering. It might be a phone call. It might be listening.

For those fortunate enough not to know someone experiencing a troubled Christmas, it might be dropping some money into a charity donation bucket so the charities can help those who need that helping hand.

It might be volunteering at a charity event. A church event.

For if there is one thing we should do more than anything else at Christmas, it is to show love. For those who need that love more at this time than any other, we can be there for them to show they need not feel alone.

We wish the best Christmas there can be to all, in the knowledge that for some that is a harder journey by far.