She grimaced in pain, as she lay in her bed;
Visions of sugar plums danced in head.
Christmas Eve almost over and still she was ill.
Nothing had given relief, not one pill.
She was missing Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.
She was missing Christmas, her holiday treasured so dear.
The anger, the pain, the sadness so deep…
Her family kissed her gently, “Please sleep”
as they left for church to worship the Babe.
And her heart filled with tears, beginning to weep.
She was missing Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.
She was missing Christmas, her holiday treasured so dear.
The radio at bedside had forced jolly tunes
Of Santa and snow and “Christmas comes soon.”
With foggy head, in the pained, dizzy spin,
She could not sit up; it was torture and rude.
She was missing Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.
She was missing Christmas, her holiday treasured so dear.
Then the DJ shared from his heart,
“Christmas is Jesus, His humanly start.
He came to earth as Emmanuel love”
and they played “Silent Night” wrapped in a jazz chart.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14 ESV).
Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love's pure light,
radiant beams from thy holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
(“Silent Night,” Mohr, J., 1818)
“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’” (Mt. 1:22-23 ESV).
O come, O come, Emmanuel
You’re not missing Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.
You’re not missing Christmas.
Beloved, I am right here.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny,
From depths of hell, Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.
(“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” 12th c., Neale, J. M, trans., 1851)
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20 ESV).
Jesus held her hand, stroked her sweaty hair,
And they sang, “Hallelujah,” and worship filled the air.
Silent night! Holy night!
wondrous star, lend thy light;
with the angels let us sing
alleluias to our King;
Christ, the Savior, is born!
Christ, the Savior, is born!
Help me to behold You, Lord Jesus
“For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you’” (Is. 41:13 ESV).
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend.
He knows our need — to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!
(“O Holy Night,” Cappeau, P., 1847)
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7 ESV).
Please comfort me, for I feel afraid, sad, and alone
You can worship and love Me from here or anywhere.
Beloved, I am right here.
Beloved, do not fear.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4 ESV).
O come, thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Beloved, I am right here.
Beloved, I am right here.
(“Missing Christmas,” copyright 12-25-03, Lauri A. Hogle)
Missing Christmas? So, I rest with You. I worship and adore You, my Savior, and my hope
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11 ESV).
O, holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17 ESV).
A thrill of hope—the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
I may “miss Christmas” with others as I desire, but You are with me, holding me in and through every moment. Help me to rest with You, abiding in Your hope and love in a fresh way in whatever this Christmas brings. In Your holy name, Lord Jesus Christ, my Emmanuel, amen.
A podcast of Scripture and Christmas hymns to help us with symptoms
I remember the year I felt like I was missing Christmas. I remember tears in my sickbed producing this song. It’s as if it were yesterday. Beloved, I’m praying that this Christmas will be a uniquely special and memorable one for both of us precisely because we’re suffering from chronic illness and pain right now.
Are you fearing you might be “missing Christmas” this year? Will you have to rest away from loved ones? Will you possibly be hospitalized? Bed-ridden? With too many symptoms to enjoy celebrations?
I’ve created this month’s podcast of Scripture and Christmas hymns to help with our symptoms if they flare up. I pray it will calm our autonomic nervous system and release God’s natural endorphins in our bodies so we might not “miss Christmas” quite so much, by His great grace and design.
I’ll use it frequently, for I desire to be with our adult children and little grandchildren this year. See podcast program notes for tips on using it.
May the great gift of our Emmanuel be His love song this year, even if we “miss Christmas” as we had planned.
Beloved in Christ, Jesus is right here with us. Have a beautiful Christmas as we celebrate His first coming.
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