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A disabled Central Point woman who can’t afford the trip north to visit her terminally ill father in Washington state.

Siblings, ages 21 and 18, who seek stability in their lives after spending the past three years living in a hotel room with no kitchen and a leaky roof.

A retired construction worker battling the scourge of depression among other chronic medical issues needs someone willing to offer part-time work as a means to restoring a sense of self-worth.

These are just a few of the people — being helped by Southern Oregon social service agencies — who have had a light shined upon them in recent weeks through the Rogue Valley Times’ “Hope for the Holidays” series.

Their stories, and those of others who have been or will be presented as the series continues in the next couple of weeks, remind us that through all the festivities, the lights and the caroling, the traditional celebrations that brighten our moods in the run-up to Christmas, there is more to see in this season.

We want to look at the twinkling lights without peering into the shadows in which those struggling for normalcy live. We want to fill our hearts with song, and keep from hearing the laments of those less fortunate.

It is a natural impulse, this turning to the brightness. As we read about our neighbors in the “Hope for the Holidays” series, we are reminded of just how close it seems at times to imagine ourselves beside them.

There, but for the grace of God …

“I need to see him. I want to hug him,” the Central Point woman with the cancer-stricken father told support staff from Living Opportunities, who are providing around-the-clock, in-home care for the woman’s own needs.

The brother and sister have finally been able to move out of the hotel but are in need of basics to adjust to day-to-day living after escaping brutal circumstances.

“They can just create their own household, because they really have not had that before,” case manager Cassandra Fleming of the Maslow Project says of the siblings, who are both now attending Rogue Community College.““They have stuck together,” she adds, “and done what they needed to do.”

The retired construction worker, 67, continues to push forward despite struggling with being part of the “epidemic of loneliness” in the senior community, according to Ellen Denninger, behavioral health specialist for the Rogue Valley Council of Governments.

“For seniors like him, knowing that someone cares and shows up for him,” Denninger says, “… makes him feel seen and heard, like he’s a valued part of the community.

“Otherwise, he would feel isolated and disposable.”

Isolated. Disposable. At this time of year, when our thoughts alternate between reverie and reflection, there’s often not enough time in the course of a day to contemplate the emotional, physical and practical obstacles faced by those around us living parallel, non-intersecting lives.

What our “Hope for the Holidays” series strives to do goes beyond simply eliciting empathy, sympathy or generosity. Those, of course, exist in all of us, and many act on those feelings without needing to be prompted.

Rather, these stories remind us that as our hearts swell with the joy of the season, they create room for gratitude — and grace.