An Appropriate Holiday
Sentiment
I had no Christmas spirit
when I breathed a weary sigh
And looked across the table
where the bills were piled too high
The laundry wasn't finished
and the dinner I had to fix
My head and my back were
aching, I had to be ready to go out by six
And so with only minutes
till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery
and grabbed a wooden stool
The burdens that I carried
were about all I could take
And so I flipped the TV
on to catch a little break
I came upon a desert scene
in shades of tan and rust
No snowflakes hung upon
the wind, just clouds of swirling dust
And where the reindeer should
have stood before a laden sleigh
Eight Hummers ran a column
right behind an M1A
A group of boys walked past
the tank, not one was past his teens
Their eyes were hard as
polished flint, their faces drawn and lean
They walked the street in
armor with their rifles shouldered tight
Their dearest wish for Christmas,
just to have a silent night
Other soldiers gathered,
hunkered down against the wind
To share a scrap of mail
and dreams of going home again
There wasn't much at all
to put their lonely hearts at ease
They had no Christmas turkey,
just a pack of MREs
They didn't have a garland
or a stocking I could see
They didn't need an ornament--
they lacked a Christmas Tree
They didn't have a present
even though it was tradition
The only boxes I could see
were labeled "ammunition"
I felt a little tug and found
my son now by my side
He asked me what it was
I feared, and why it was I cried
I swept him up into my arms
and held him oh so near
And kissed him on the forehead
as I whispered in his ear
There's nothing wrong my
little son, for safe we sleep tonight
Our heroes stand on foreign
land to give us all the right
To worry about the things
in life that mean nothing at all
Instead of wondering if
we will be the next to fall
He looked at me as children
do and said its always right
To thank the ones who help
us and perhaps that we should write
And so we pushed aside the
bills and sat to draft a note
To thank the many far from
home, and this is what we wrote
God Bless You all and keep
you safe, and speed your way back home
Remember that we love you
so, and that you're not alone
God Bless You all and keep
you safe
The gift you give you share
with all, a present every day
You give the gift of liberty
and that, we cannot ever repay.
At Christmas
A man is at his finest towards
the finish of the year
He is almost what he should
be when the Christmas season's here
Then he's thinking more
of others than he's thought the months before
And the laughter of his
children is a joy worth toiling for
He is less a selfish creature
than at any other time
When the Christmas spirit
rules him he comes close to the sublime
When it's Christmas man is
bigger and is better in his part
He is keener for the service
that is prompted by the heart
All the petty thoughts and
narrow seem to vanish for awhile
And the true reward he's
seeking is the glory of a smile
Then for others he is toiling
and somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas he is
almost what God wanted him to be
If I had to paint a picture
of a man I think I'd wait
Till he'd fought his selfish
battles and had put aside his hate
I'd not catch him at his
labors when his thoughts are all of self
On the long days and the
dreary when he's striving for himself
I'd not take him when he's
sneering, when he's scornful or depressed
But I'd look for him at
Christmas when he's shining at his best
Man is ever in a struggle
and he's oft misunderstood
There are days the worst
that's in him is the master of the good
But at Christmas kindness
rules him and he puts himself aside
And his petty hates are
vanquished and his heart is opened wide
Oh, I don't know how to
say it, but somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas man is
almost what God sent him here to be.
Edgar Guest
Christmas is a Time for
Love
Christmas is a time for Love,
a time for Joy and Peace
A time to trim the Christmas
Tree and a time to stuff the geese
It's a time when we can
come together, however far or near
To shed a little hope into
a world of sorrow and fear.
Yet Christmas could be all
year 'round, if only we would try
To gently wipe an old man's
brow or soothe a baby's cry
If we could smile throughout
the year as we do on Christmas Day
Just think what happiness
we'd shed along life's weary way.
To give a gift of Hope to
one who otherwise has none
To be a Friend to somebody
whom everyone else has shun
To be Forgiving of our faults
and of our sisters and our brothers
To Live in Peace and Harmony
with ourselves and with each other.
Ah, don't you see that Christmas
is more than opening up the gifts
It's more than singing Christmas
Carols and rolling in big snow drifts
It's a feeling that can
stay with you throughout each day, all year
And all it takes is a loving
heart.....and a sensitive ear.
Every Day Is Christmas
Every day is Christmas when
you have the kind of mind
That stores up all the goodness
and the sweetness it can find
When you don't need an occasion
to spread a bit of cheer
But just keep on giving
of yourself throughout the year.
Every day is Christmas with
a gaily wrapped surprise
When you've learned to see
the friendship in someone else's eyes
When you try a little harder,
and complain a little less
Holding fast to all the
fervor of the faith that you possess.
Every day is Christmas, when
you've found that you can be
More concerned with words
like "you" and less with "I" and "me"
When it's fun to do a favor,
and to lend a helping a hand
When being understood means
less than when you understand.
Every day is Christmas, with
a beauty deeply cast
When you find it doesn't
matter, if you're first or if you're last
When you can face your conscience,
and be glad of what you are
Then every day is Christmas,
with a stable and a star.
Keeping Christmas
There is a better thing than
the observance of Christmas Day,
and that is Keeping Christmas.
Are you willing to forget
what you have done for other people
and to remember what other
people have done for you?
To ignore what the world
owes you,
and to think what you owe
the world?
To admit that the only good
reason for your existence is
not what you are going to
get out of life,
but what you are going to
give to life?
Are you willing to stoop
down and consider the needs
and desire of little children?
To remember the weakness
and loneliness
of people who are growing
old?
To stop asking how much your
friends like you?
and ask yourself whether
you love them enough?
To try to understand what
those who live
in the same house with you
really want,
without waiting for them
to tell you?
To make a grave for your
ugly thoughts
and a garden for your kindly
feelings, with the gate open?
Are you willing to do these
things even for a day?
Then you can keep Christmas.
Are you willing to believe
that love
is the strongest thing in
the world --
stronger than hate, stronger
than death --
and that the blessed Life
which began in
Bethlehem two thousand years
ago is the image
and brightness of eternal
love?
Then you can keep Christmas.
Henry van Dyke
What Shall We Give the
Children?
What shall we give the children
? Christmas is almost here.
Toys and games and playthings
as we do every year ?
Yes, for the magic of Toyland
is part of the Yuletide lore
To gladden the heart of
childhood but I shall give something more
I shall give them patience,
a more sympathetic ear
A little more time for laughter,
or tenderly dry a tear
I shall take time to teach
them the joy of doing some task
I'll try to find time to
answer more of the questions that they ask
Time to read books together,
and take long walks in the sun
Time for a bedtime story,
after the day is done
I shall give these to my
children weaving a closer tie
Knitting our lives together,
with gifts that money can not buy.
Every Time A Hand Reaches
Out
Every time a hand reaches
out to help another
That is Christmas
Every time someone puts anger
aside and strives for understanding
That is Christmas
Every time people forget
differences and realize their love for each other
That is Christmas
May this Christmas bring
us closer to the spirit of human understanding
Closer to the blessing of
peace!
