Do you hear what I hear?

My favorite Christmas song is "Do You Hear What I Hear?" There is a version of it by Third Day on the Christmas Offerings album. I sincerely wish that for each of my entries I could select a musical track to accompany the text you read. If I could choose one for this entry, it would be that song. I'm listening to it while I write, as many times as my roommate will let me, because it really captures the spirit of Christmas for me.

The news of Christ's birth, beginning with just a breath of the wind and a message to a humble lamb. The news spreads in a strange hierarchy, to shepherds, whose word was not trusted in court and to a child, who is the least likely to be listenened to. Then, the best part of all is that the little shepherd boy goes straight to the mighty king and is actually taken seriously when he tells the king about the Messiah. How awesome is the message of this song on so many levels!

I see the beauty of that favorite song of mine reflected in the amazing experience of Christmas I've had in Belfast. Christmas began as an idea, a message to be shared in plays, skits, and readings that would happen throughout the advent season. But Christmas infected my heart and came to me through the people I've come to love and know as dear friends here in Belfast. There is no way I could ever thank everyone for the myriad of gifts, cards, and well wishes I received this season. Today, Boxing Day, I stood in Frances' kitchen drying dishes and my heart was so full thinking of all the people who are now my extended family.

Christmas came to me through the youth at Whitehouse who put on an incredible Christmas Eve service, through visiting housebound and giving out potted plants, through sing alongs at a local nursing home and the Salvation Army, through people I served alongside or observed, through carols and the faces of children showing off their presents (even one putting Scooby Doo in the nativity!), through the people I work and worship with, and through the city itself. Now I see pictures on the walls of our house and think about how they are so familiar to me. I am already so changed by this experience and feel a bit of sadness that my Christmas in Belfast is coming to an end. It truly was a blessed Christmas and I hope that yours was the same.