"Thinkin"

I’m thinkin’ about Christmas,

Though still a few weeks off,

All the things that we have planned,

My heart goes kinda soft.

‘Cause the moments from my yesterdays,

And all those times long past,

Flood into my memories,

And just passed by too fast.

I won’t hear little children’s feet,

Come runnin’ down the hall,

Or laughs and giggles Christmas morn,

They’re grown and gone, that’s all.

I won’t be stayin’ up real late,

Puttin’ toys together,

Cussin’ those directions,

And wonderin’ just whether,

The parts that were left over,

Mattered to the rest,

I won’t feel so exhausted,

Though then I did my best,

To give ‘em what they asked for,

Few gifts I think of now,

What then kept me so busy,

I can’t remember now.

Christmas will be quieter,

I’ll still go to the parade,

I’ll preach at church that Sunday,

The message that I’ve made.

On Christmas Eve with candles,

We’ll gather with our friends,

Down at the Sheriff’s Posse,

Praise for all the Good Lord sends.

And here we will be thankful,

For the Savior’s blessed birth,

And how the Word came in the flesh,

To bring love to this earth.

Lots has changed but this has not,

And still its news the best,

It’s peace on earth good will to men,

Through Jesus we are blessed.

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NAS)

Life changes, but the unchanging message of Christmas is that the Word became flesh. God has always been present, but never before in this way. God entered the world as a cell, the fertilized egg of a young woman. When you stop to think about it, the Almighty utterly took on humanity and somehow miraculously and mysteriously limited Himself to the constraints of time and space. And all of this so that the Son of God would experience every imaginable aspect of being human and save us from the existential predicament of sin. Truly amazing!

Lord, help us ponder the try wonder of the Christmas event, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bill Anton, used by permission. Thanks, Bill, and God bless you.