CHRISTMAS TO
REMEMBER
Christmas usually makes us think
Of shopping in the snow, Of
caroling, loving, giving, sharing,
And that special mistletoe.
It reminds most folks of Santa
And presents "neath the tree,
And Christmas has always brought
Those same thoughts to me.
But something happened late one
night To change the way I feel,
An unexpected incident that
made the season real.
I had just come from talking
To a real close friend of mine,
"Just can't wait to get it over"
Is what you hear all the time.
Well, it was snowing really hard
I was miserable and cold,
And the packages I had were
Getting awfully hard to hold.
So I thought I'd just stop and
Sit while I waited for my ride,
I found a bus stop shelter
I went and sat inside.
My Christmas spirit was not the
Best as I shivered from the cold
And all the holly jolly stuff
Was really getting old.
I sat there with my attitude
When I noticed "cross the street,
A Nativity no one cared for
It looked old and pretty beat.
The thought had crossed my mind,
"How sad, does no one really care
Now that Santa's the important
One to children everywhere.
People passing, no one cared
The cradle had been tipped,
And the dress on Virgin Mary
Was looking worn and ripped.
I figured, well its so
Commercialized and now Santa is
The one, That children think
And care about"Cause he brings
all the fun."
That's all the time I spent on
That so I'm just as quilty too,
Until I saw the incident that
Changed my point of view.
I saw a man dressed in a suit
A Santa Claus no less,
He was fixing up the manger
Scene and cleaning up the mess.
As I sat there watching him
I didn't feel the cold,
I felt the love and warmth he had
For a birthday long ago.
I heard the prayer he said that
Night It's one I'll not forget,
He said, "Bless the children I've
Not seen And all the ones I've met.
Please help the parents of these
Kids to make them understand, that
You're the reason we are here
I'm just here to lend a hand."
He said, " I didn't mean to be
Important I didn't mean to be the
One, That everybody thinks of
First when You're the chosen Son."
He wiped his eyes from tears of
Love as he continued on, "I want
The folks to realize this way
They think is wrong.
Please help me have the power
To teach these people true,
That the spirit of the holiday
Is not in me but You.
I see in all the homes around
They decorate in me.
It was supposed to be for fun
It's You they need to see.
I'm sorry I'm complaining."
He said still on one knee,
"I just wish I had the power
To help some of them see.
"For God so loved the World he
Gave His only Begotten Son."
How can they compare my gifts
To this special Holy One."
He stopped talking for as moment
Just knelt in fervent prayer.
Beside the manger scene he
Fixed with tender loving care.
He put his hat back on his head
Slowly rose up to his feet,
He zipped his coat, said good-bye
Then wandered down the street.
It wasn't till that moment I
Noticed people everywhere
They all had stopped to listen and
They had heard that Santa's prayer.
"Cross the way was an apartment
With windows that faced the
Street, and faces in every window
Probably people he'd never meet.
Will he ever know
The "power he received,
If I hadn't seen it for myself
I'm not sure that I'd believed.
But now I know the "power" Is
In each and every one, As we
Treat Christmas as a birthday
For an only Begotten Son.
I know Christmas in our house will
Never be the same again, It
Changed one night I heard Santa
say, "In Jesus name, AMEN."
Written by Connie Walker
Christmas 1993