Hark! It's Christmastime!

I like Thanksgiving. So I get a little perturbed at times with the rush to get the most out of the Christmas season comes at the cost of skimming over Thanksgiving. When I first see the aisles stuffed with Christmas decorations and hear Christmas music on the radio in October, I cringe a bit. I guess I feel like I am force-fed Christmas early so the retailers can take advantage of me. I won't be taken advantage of! :)

(I don't dislike you if you put your tree up early. It just isn't my choice.)

That being said. I guess that is why it takes me a bit longer to get in the swing of things around this time of year.  But, I love Christmas as much as I do Thanksgiving and I get that excitement in due time. I can usually pin it to a moment in time when I "feel like Christmas".

This year it came last week as I was driving down the road listening to KLOVE. I wasn't really paying attention to it at first. I had tuned the radio out and was thinking of what I had to do that day. I had just dropped Dinah off at day school, so T-5.5 hours until pick-up was GO TIME.

I rolled to a stop at the red-light at Shiloh and Harper and realized Amy Grant was softly singing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" to me. I began to sing with her.

At the beginning of the song, she sings softly, a cappella.

"Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled."

I begin to sing with her. Gently, with the next verse, the flutes and piccolos join her, and I am covered in chill bumps with wonder at the King.

"Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies.
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem."

A soft female voices join her along with other instruments. I feel a shoutin' spell coming on. Thankfully, I am able to be on auto-pilot at this point in my journey, because I'm so near to home.

"Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth."

Voices unite to form a full choir to shout and sing,

"Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell
Jesus our Emmanuel!
Pleased as man with men to dwell
Jesus our Emmanuel!"

The entire orchestra comes in, the music crescendos. I'm pounding my steering wheel with each word, singing as loud as my lungs allow,

"Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of Righteousness
Light and life to all He brings
risen with healing in His wings"

The organ cries out in praise along with me as I have one hand raised and one on the wheel,

"Christ by Highest Heaven adored
Christ the Everlasting Lord
Come desire of nations come!
Fix in us thy humble home
Come desire of nations come!
Fix in us thy humble home."

With tears flowing, I turn off the radio because what could follow that? I drive in silence until I arrive home, turn off the car, I hide my face in my arms over the steering wheel, cry my eyes out, feeling spent but at the same time full of joy. A spirit of peace reigned despite my disheveled appearance.

It was 70 degrees outside. My yard was full of fall leaves. There were pumpkins and withered mums on my doorstep. Inside there were harvest decorations on the mantle. There was no Christmas tree in the living room. But in that moment, in my heart, Christmas-time had come.


Amy Grant "The Christmas Collection"