The Innocence

Article Published in the Meade Co. Messenger on December 9, 2009

by Kevin Hatfield

The day had been a long one, filled with the usual pressures, as Karl finished his evening sitting at his desk, staring face to face with his laptop.  The coffee he nursed filled the study with rich aroma as his daughter walked in.  She asked if she could do her homework in here with him if she promised to be quiet.  Karl agreed, knowing she would be hard pressed to keep her promise, but he let her anyway.  In the background he had his usual selection of music faintly playing a soothing sound of worship that drifted through the air.

He was hard focused on his task at hand trying to meet a deadline, when soft humming caught his attention.  He paused, and then looked over his screen to see his youngest girl fully engrossed in her math, but humming to the music just the same.
The song played on and she continued never missing a beat, completely oblivious to her harmonic sounds.  What he saw was a glimpse of pure innocence.  Her face changing as she thought through her homework,
almost angelic in beauty. Daddy’s girl didn’t know the true evils of this world yet, and was completely content sharing the study with her Daddy. He felt a lump swell up in his throat and a tear came to his eye. All he could do was watch and share in song of her heart.

Mary was in the manger when the shepherds came in.  Telling a story about an angel, and how they followed a star just to see this baby. When they had finished she looked down at Jesus in her arms, Joseph by her side, and saw true innocence. A baby born, given to all of mankind for one purpose, to share the perfect gift, Love.  She pondered these things in her heart.

Many years later, she watched the terrible scene of her son being beaten, and then paraded through the streets of town to full fill that gift of love.  As he hung on the cross in open shame before all, she again remembered that night so long ago, and could still see the innocence.

Karl and many of us will spend Christmas with family and friends this year hoping we bought the right presents.  Wondering how we shall recover from all the spending.  But the real Christmas is celebrated in our hearts, sharing in a story of love and kindness, filled with peace and joy.

This year let’s get past the usual and find what Karl found right in front of him. This Christmas besides enjoying family and feast, find the true innocence.  God has pulled up two chairs, sat down, invited you over, and said “Let’s talk.”

We The People

We The People: "Words of Wisdom: Wretchedness and Opression
As we sit on the edge of the greatest power grab in our nation's history, I feel that is important to look to our Founding Fathers for their wisdom. Never before have these words rang more true than in the day and time we live in now.

'We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
We must make our election between economy and liberty
or profusion and servitude.
If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and
in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and
our amusements, for our calling and our creeds...
[we will] have no time to think,
no means of calling our miss-managers to account
but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves
to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers...
And this is the tendency of all human governments.
A departure from principle in one instance
becomes a precedent for [another ]...
till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery...
And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt.
Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.'


Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Samuel Kercheval, Monticello, July 12, 1816"

The Shepherds

Article Published Dec. 2,2009 Meade Co. Messenger

The Shepherds

By Kevin Hatfield

The gentle evening breeze blew out the fading sun as the shepherds’ day came to an end. The sun had been especially hot and they were tired as they put the animals down for the night. With all today’s activities coming to a close they settled down around a small fire, snacking on a small meal, and reminiscing the struggles of their day. As dusk faded into dark and their conversation wound down something happened that would change their lives forever…

As we approach Christmas this year we come face to face with difficult challenges. We find ourselves in precarious times, the worst recession in my adult lifetime, a weakening dollar, record unemployment, foreclosures, and a troubled real estate market, to say the least. Safe to say Christmas couldn’t come at a worse time for many families in our area. But with all these pressures there is still hope.

Times are changing and we must change with them. Our culture of .coms, huge profits, and excessive living have come to a close. We must adapt our lifestyles to fit our budgets; get back to the basics if you will.

Vincent Lombardi, all American football coach began each season with a lecture to veteran players and rookies alike. Holding up a football in one hand and said, “This is a football…” Get back to the fundamental basics.

The basics: In generations past, before the big economic boom, families helped families, neighbors knew each other, and people took care of people. Christmas wasn’t about how big the gift was, or how much we spent. It was about families getting together and sharing. It was about celebrating Christmas a time of joy, not worries, and financial pressures. It was about Love and the first present, the real gift.

The story I started with is a back story of what might have happened to the Shepherds you read about in Luke Chapter 2 of your bible. But my question is this; What would cause these shepherds to leave their flock and begin a journey to Bethlehem? What could possibly be so important to them to walk away from everything they had worked for? The answer…Hope.


The shepherds were also in an economic struggle. They were oppressed by a Roman occupation of their country with no end in sight. Taxation to Caesar taking from their ‘pockets’ at every turn. Which is why Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The shepherds knew the stories of a leader that would come and deliver them, but not just some leader, a messiah, a deliverer.


…Just as they were about to fall asleep for the night, a bright light surrounded them, and a group of angels were with them around their fire. They were so scared they couldn’t even move. Then one spoke “Fear not, I bring good tidings of great joy…” The angel told them a baby was going to be born in a manger and to follow the star. They immediately left guided only by the star to the manger to see the hope they had prayed would come. The savior, the messiah, the deliverer of all mankind.



This Christmas we still have this hope. Our present given to us back in Bethlehem is love. A love that is much more important than anything we could purchase this year. Better than the toys or electronics that will become old and outdated. It’s something that will last and see us through our struggles. It’s a love that is bigger than just some empty story, it’s a love that will guide you to help a neighbor in hard times. Give you support from a church family as you struggle. It will help you make good decisions, and direct you to be a better person. And it’s already paid for.

It led shepherds to leave all they had to find, and guide you back to find all you left chasing the American dream.

This Christmas let’s find the basics in our homes: Faith, Hope, and Love. The real present is Love. And that’s a Christmas worth celebrating.