Favorite Christmases

It's cold outside, crisp and white; bright stars fill the sky
On nights like this I reminisce of Christmases gone by.
I wish that I could go back there and live them all again,
Favorite Christmases I've known still warm my heart as then.

Christmas trees and holly leaves, firesides aglow
Stockings hung expectantly by children full of hope.
Carols sung at evening-time, loved ones gathered near
My favorite Christmases contain these memories I hold dear.

But there's one Christmas, I recall, more precious than them all
A newborn Babe, an infant King born in a lowly stall.
An angel choir sang out the news and all who heard rejoiced,
Our greatest hope, this One so small, was God's own perfect choice.

Yet as I ponder Christmases that I have loved before
I hang my head in shame to think -- I should have loved Him more.
The gift of Christ is still availed to people young and old
We've somehow let life's worldly glitz stand in for God's pure gold.

This year I want my life to shine far brighter than seasons past
Revealing the Christmas spirit in loving ways that last.
Lord Jesus, please accept my love though feeble at its best
And live through me that all may see Your Spirit, this Christmas.

~© Grace M. Baxter, October 1989~