As I pack away my Christmas tree and finger the ornaments lovingly made or given by my children in the past, my heart longs for them.  Spending Christmas apart from family is one of the most challenging experiences I have faced recently.  Our government edict to limit our interactions to our own household at this time is needful to deal with the pandemic, but it hurts.   Memories flood my spirit as I work on the tree.  I ponder the days when my home was filled with children laughing and bouncing around with their boundless energy.  Days of board games and doing puzzles, moments of glee playing together in the…