In a season of merry and bright,
My joy is gone, nowhere to be found.
Endless worries fill this silent night
And hope, a mere shadow on the ground.

Once, I cherished the time of Christ’s birth,
Relished the promises brought to life
When this God-child entered the earth
To end the curse of our sin and strife.

What erased the wonder in my heart?
When did I let awe depart?

No one sees my lonely, aching soul,
Countless problems and woes strike me blind,
Conflicting loves that demand control,
Constantly robbing my peace of mind.

This season, I’ve nothing to offer
But all my apathy and sorrow.
As an unhappy, morose scoffer,
My heart grows weary each tomorrow.

In the depths of this negativity,
Is there hope in the nativity?

Then a still, small voice whispered to me,
And slowly I begin to recall,
What unfolded ere He came to be?
I recounted stories learned when small.

In the beginning, Job blessed the Lord,
Enduring a harsh, unforeseen test.
His lot rang out a dissonant chord,
A dirge of isolated distress.

Joseph boasted of dreams to his brothers,
Which set in motion unwelcome change.
Forced and enslaved under another,
Imprisoned, deserted, and estranged.

God promised Abram a family tree,
But self-reliance led him astray,
He brought division of great degree
With mistrust in the Divine’s delay.

Jeremiah wept over his race
Yet mixed his sorrow with self-pity.
He failed to stop Israel’s disgrace
And exile from their loved city.

A shepherd, David faced many tests,
But clung to the living King of Kings.
A boy beat a giant, who’d have guessed?
He ushered in peace with his harp strings.

Time and again, he made inquiries
Pleading with the God of creation.
David knew 10,000 victories,
Beloved ruler of the nation.

But his life was marred by grievous sin.
His lies led to the death of many,
He acted coldly to his own kin,
Craving, killing, but having plenty.

In the end, every prophet, priest, and king
Bore the marks of sin’s deadly sting.

All this ancient, broken history
Brought the arrival of the Holy One,
Unmasking a divine mystery:
God gave hope in the gift of His Son.

As a boy, He also knew His fate,
But responded with humility.
In the wild, under temptations’ weight,
He spoke with truth and tranquility.

He didn’t rush the time of God’s plan
But learned obedience from above.
He never bowed to the will of man
But rested well in His Father’s love.

As the Shepherd, He opened the gate
So we could know His life-giving rest.
Our Warrior made the crooked straight
Bringing salvation to all oppressed.

Vainglory never captured Him,
Self-pity never entangled Him,
Impatience never defeated Him,
Suffering never embittered Him,
Mistreatment never defined Him,
Disappointment never ruled Him.

That faint whisper began to roar clear:
I erased the wonder in my heart
As I let my faults, failures, and fear
Pull me under and tear me apart.

The stories of old mirror my own;
Not one of us is messianic.
We are all messy down to the bone,
But should this give us cause for panic?

Life’s not always so merry and bright
But that’s why this Child came to earth.
His precious life gives mankind true sight
For in Him our souls find deathless worth.

He lived perfectly, as I could not—
Oh, the wonder born in me anew—
To give selflessly what I have not.
Oh, let this joy forever ring true.