They start the day after Thanksgiving. Radio stations devoted entirely to holiday music fill our lives with traditional sounds. There seem to be two kinds. The first kind play the Rudolf, Jingle Bells and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer genre. The second kind lean toward the more sacred or the more classical. Sometimes I think I cannot bear another playing of Feliz Navidad. My apologies to my Spanish speaking friends. I really did like it the first 300 times. One of my favorite songs of the second kind is The Evening Prayer lullaby from Hansel and Gretel. It really doesn’t have a strong connection to Christmas but is often played during the holidays.
The lyrics are as follows, “When at night I go to sleep, fourteen angels watch do keep: two my head are guarding, two my feet are guiding, two are on my right hand, two are on my left hand, two who warmly cover, two who o’er me hover, two to whom ‘tis given to guide my steps to heaven.” I encourage you to listen to it on any one of many renditions on YouTube.com.
The assurance of God’s care and love for us is essential. Tonight I especially think of all the children of Aleppo, who, while not Christians, are just as loved by God as we. He knows their fears, hunger and pain. Just this week we sent $500 from Spring of Life to western Uganda where we received an urgent plea from a pastor who is protecting and trying to feed 23 refugees from tribal killings.
This world is not a fair place but our heavenly Father watches and cares and will someday make all things right. Christmas is to remind us of that Father who gave us His only Son to mend this broken world.
Spring Of Life