Twas the night before Christmas
And in my heart stirred
Some thoughts I wanted to share
And I’ll try to put to words.

Christmas seems so different
As our boys are all full grown.
They’re celebrating Christmas
With families of their own.

The trappings have diminished.
The pile of presents is quite small.
No one will wake us early.
Instead they’ll text or call.

It’s not Pinterest perfect
But neither was a manger a bed
Yet Jesus came that first Christmas
And it’s where He lay down His sweet head.

He came that we might know
His Father from above
And the perfect gifts He gives us
Hope, peace, joy, and love.

For Christmas is so much more
Than we all choose to let it be.
It’s not presents and all the trappings.
It’s not even family.

It’s a manger and a cross.
From stable to tomb.
And the question we must ask ourselves
Is will we make room?

For nothing else compares
No greater gift in all the earth.
May we not forget the cross
As we celebrate the birth.

And so I pray this Christmas
In our hearts and in our homes
That we would deeply know Him
And we’d live to make Him known.

Merry Christmas with love!