Mixed Feelings on Christmas Eve

It’s topsy-turvy world today

Yes!  It’s Christmas Eve!

But with a shortage of cash

Many will definitely be peeved.

The recent homicides

And property lost to house fires,

The loss of loved ones at this time

Short changing our desires.

The delight that is Christmas

Tainted with tragedy,

Mixed feelings in the hearts

Of many a family.

Long queues at cash counters

In the last minute haste

To acquire something not needed

Perceived as a necessary waste.

Long lines of winding traffic

Headed here and there,

Vehicles parking indiscriminately

Almost anywhere.

Anger expressed at cashiers

Perceived as deliberately slow

But excitement in every sinew

As to another store we go.

Quarrelling and fretting

But thrilled it is Christmas Eve

Tomorrow is Christmas Day

It’s then we’ll be relieved

But alas, at many a home

Mixed feelings trouble the soul,

The lost of one so precious

Has left the family fold.

The plan was to spend Christmas

In the company of that one

But now with his or her deletion

Comes a sense of being lost and alone.

How do we celebrate Christmas

Without a sense of guilt

With these mixed feelings in attendance

Causing our joy to wilt?

 

It is Christmas Eve again

But our sorrow limits our joy

And to deal with these mixed feelings

A higher source we must employ.

This morning I call on the Saviour

To calm each troubled soul:

The one when we are broken

That can make us completely whole.

To help us to see beyond

Our present misery and pain

And to know that in him

There’s joy unspeakable to be claimed.

And to know the peace of God

That passes human understanding,

That in such times as the present

We can manage our mixed feelings.

And as the inevitable rush unfolds

In the excitement of this season,

Help us to spare a generous thought

For Jesus Christ: he is the reason.

Stewart Russell © December, 2018

December, the Icing on the Cake

Sometimes I wonder

Which month I like the best

Just then there is December

And February first among the rest.

March is ranked very highly

And so too are April and May

But right at the top of my list

Comes December with Christmas day.

In these there are celebrations

Of my household family members

But the icing on the cake

Oh, that is certainly December

Like a child I anticipate

The coming of the Christmas season

But as an adult I appreciate

That Jesus is the reason.

There is much discussion

Concerning the day of his birth

But far more important

Is the fact he came to earth.

Born of a lowly virgin

From a family of little repute

His teaching and even his miracles

Was cause for great dispute.

The celebration of his birth

Makes December my best month

For the coming of Jesus Christ

Turned my defeat into triumph.

December for the merchant

Is a bumper Christmas sales time

But for all the born again

It is the renewing of our mind.

December for the rum drinker

May be another free drink

But for the genuine Christian

It is a time to reflect and think.

  

December for the little child

Means a new and exciting toy

But for the one that has been saved

It’s a great and wonderful joy.

December for the reveller

Means a chance to revel again

But for the Christian believer

It points to the Saviour’s pain.

You can argue if you wish

Concerning the month and day

But if Jesus is not your reason

You are going the wrong way.

Let this therefore be the year

That you will always remember:

For the fact of your rebirth

Let it happen this December.

Though it’s the end of the year

It could be a new beginning for you:

New ideas and a brand new outlook

And an entirely different view.

May this December for you

Be the proverbial icing on the cake,

This month of great spiritual importance

Let it be your new birth date.

Stewart Russell © December 2018