T'was The Day After Christmas

T'was the day after Christmas, and all through the house

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stocking and trash had been flung without care;

It looked like Hurricane Henri'd been there!

The children, exhausted, were still in their beds,

with visions of yesterday's gifts in their heads.

Mama had a headache and I, feeling ill,

knew we'd had too much noise and had eaten our fill.

And all through the house there was such a clutter,

I stepped on a toy and began to mutter,

"Those kids! Will they never learn to pick up?"

I would have said more, but a thought came, abrupt:

"It's quiet; why don't you sit down, not gripe,

and ponder the meaning of all of this hype?"

So sit down I did in the midst of the mess,

and got out my Bible and began to address

The reason behind all this hullabaloo;

I read about Mary, and Joseph, too;

How Mary was pregnant, all big and round,

When told they must travel to Joseph's home town;

The journey was hard, for the baby was due.

Then they got to the inn and were told, "There's no room."

They found shelter out back inside of a stable.

Though hard to imagine, Mary somehow was able

to give birth to a wonderful baby boy,

who would turn out to be the source of great joy

to all of the people who lived then and now;

For both they and we need a Savior, and how!

And this was the Savior, the one prophesied,

who would come to this world and would suffer and die

the death we deserve, and forgive us our sin,

that we may know God and be taken in

as God's children; I think Jimmy Stewart is right:

When you're living with God, it's a wonderful life!

This news was so big that an angel appeared

to inform some shepherds--Boy, were they scared!

But the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid,

for the news that I have to tell you is great!

Today, back in town, a Savior's been born;

He's the one you've been waiting for; He is the Lord!

To make sure you find him and not some stranger,

look for the babe that's been laid in a manger."

Then thousands of angels appeared in the night,

singing praises to God with all of their might.

Then they left, and the overwhelmed shepherds said, "Whew!

I've never seen anything like that, have you?

Let's go into town and see if we'll find

that baby, or if we're just out of our minds."

So off they hurried to Bethlehem town

and there in the stable, the baby they found.

Mary and Joseph looked up in surprise

at these guests unexpected who had arrived.

They listened to stories of angels and light,

of singing and praises, of wonder and fright.

The shepherds told them all that they knew,

then drew close to the manger for one last view

of the babe who was lying asleep in the hay,

the one who would be their Savior someday!

Then the shepherds slipped quietly out in the night,

but they couldn't go straight home; it just wouldn't be right

to keep this Good News all to themselves;

this is the kind of news people but tell!

And tell it they did, to all that they saw,

and all who heard it stood there in awe;

Amazed at what the shepherds had said;

Was it true? Or were these guys touched in the head?

The shepherds, after the story was told,

praising God on the way, returned to the fold.

But even though shepherding still was their game,

They knew that their lives never would be the same.

For they had witnessed the glory of God;

by angels and singing and light they'd been awed;

And they'd seen with their own eyes that wee baby boy;

That one called Messiah, the source of our joy.

As for Mary, she treasured up all of these things,

and pondered them in her heart, what they might mean.

And that is the verse that most caught my eye;

that verse about Mary wondering why.

You might think this would be the only place, when

in Luke 2:51 she does it again!

She takes time to think, tries to figure things out,

and reflects on what all of this might be about.

It struck me that I need to do the same thing;

take time to reflect, do my own pondering

on all of the great things that our God has done;

Coming into this world couldn't have been that much fun.

Having lived in the splendor of heaven, he came

to this world racked with sin; it just couldn't be the same.

From the glory of heav'n to the earth he did stoop