One of the greatest sources of joy and pain in the holiday season is family. These people who are the closest to you, parents, children, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, all have their own strengths and failings. I know part of what will play out this week will be memories and experiences of estrangement, of unspoken tensions, of wounds fresh and old, lived out in homes on Christmas day. Family can be hard. On the other hand, there will be reunions filled with laughter, quiet moments of comfort, meals shared where soul and body are fed alike. Family can be beautiful and good.