Tomorrow comes

  I had experienced the magnificent stage production of "Les Miserables" in three different venues over several years. I had fallen in love with its divine music. I had marveled at the masterful energy of those who collaborated to create the modern score based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel.  I had recognized the timelessness of Hugo's masterpiece of social injustice, which he set in the backdrop of the bloody and daring French Revolution. I had conversed with a local actress who had been cast in the role of Fantine on Broadway about the emotional demands of performing show after show after show. I had wept at the sheer magnificence of the story's portrayal of abuse, despair, hope, forgiveness and redemption.

 New Year's Day sunset

  Thus I should have been prepared for the new film starring Hugh Jackman as protagonist Jean Valjean. I should have been prepared for the grip upon my heart as the story touched upon the whole of human experience -- family, love, friendship, war, poverty, rage, desperation, fear, joy, faith and hope.
  I was not.
  As the drama unfolded on screen, magnifying the story's passions hundredfold when cameras focused on close-ups of the characters, I lost myself in raw emotion. As Jackman sang "Bring Him Home," I  thought of my son who had just departed from spending time with me at his childhood home and was en route to his adult home on another continent. I thought of the value of abiding friendships as Eddie Redmayne, in the role of Marius, sang "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables."  I thought of the joy of falling in love and wretched pain of love lost as Anne Hathaway, portraying Fantine, sang "I Dreamed a Dream." I thought of today's social issues and friends who fight for justice as the ensemble sang "One Day More." And I thought of my need, our universal need, for the essential truths of forgiveness, faith and hope during the finale, which assures us that "tomorrow comes".
  While the sun sets on this New Year's Day, I feel peace in the finale's promise that "even the darkest nights will end and the sun will rise."  Earlier, this day of traditional reflection and hopeful resolve took a sudden turn. This customary day of new beginnings brought news of drastic endings. A family member had died in the night as the result of a car striking her in a tragic accident. A professional colleague and friend  had passed unexpectedly and quickly from this life  early this morning as his weakened body refused to rally from flu-like symptoms. As the news spread, those of us close to them not only reacted in shock and grief, but turned to one another in support. We know that "love is everlasting" and "to love another person is to see the face of God." We know, in the golden glow of dusk, tomorrow comes with hope and casts away the unknowns and doubts of today.
  Hugo and the lyricists had it right.