bethlehem town

i'm behind.  i've been down for the count since thanksgiving.  i should be close...well, closer to being finished with my shopping.  luckily i decorated my apartment before i left for thanksgiving. so that's done.  

christmas is my favorite time of year.  i love the decorations, the colors, the food...somehow though, i always tend to make the real reason less of a reality in my mind.  i don't know if that makes sense or not.  i think in the back of my mind, i know what christmas is all about charlie brown :), but i choose to rush through the same old story.  one tradition in my family is to open our gifts on christmas eve.  but before we do that, we read the christmas story.  sadly, i usually end up with one eye on my dad as he reads, and one eye on the presents under the tree.  

sad.  selfish.

i've had a lot of time to think in the last week or so.  it's not just a story.  it is a plan.  God's intricate design prophesied for years culminated in one moment.  it's redemption, it's love, it's mercy...something my earthly mind cannot ever begin to understand fully.  God sent His perfect Son into this world that hates Him...so we could know Him.  He gave Jesus human parents...real people who's lives were turned upside down...just because He loves us.  

i've often wondered what mary and joseph thought.  the bible gives a bit of insight, but i wonder the actual conversations they had.  what did they say, what did they feel?   

i've been listening this week to my all time favorite christmas cd.  it's christmas time by city on a hill.  this song has just been resounding in my head.  

 

bethlehem town--jars of clay

oh mary, joseph, rest your eyes

try not to think about the ending

world full of empty, He will die

but tonight He is still just a child

the silent night drifts all away

and the angels are dancing around you

there's the joy of knowing He'll save the world

overshadowing the pain He'll go through

chorus:

have you cursed at the wind

have you cried to the heavens

have you fought with this mercy you don't understand

when the wise men kneel down

to kiss the hand of this king they found

in bethlehem town

will you hold back the years awhile

will you dream that this man could always be a child

and never carry all the weight

of the dirt and the distance and the company we keep

[chorus]

and did the stars shine much brighter that night

you gave birth to the death that would bring us to life

and did the mystery keep you awake

was the sound of His little heart too much to take

oh, i don't understand

when the wise men kneel down

to kiss the had of this king they found

[chorus]

in bethlehem town

in bethlehem town

this year is different.  this year, i'm listening.  this year, the story is real.