The Nativity

The lights that sparkle on the tree
Reflect themselves in bows and balls,
The bluster of a winter night
Whistles around my sturdy walls
And stirs an ancient memory;
The greatest love my heart recalls

The lights that sparkled on that night
Were not adorning winter trees
And no mere whistle on the wind
Rejoicing song filled up the breeze
And all who heard those songs of joy
Fell to worship upon their knees

A barren little cattle shed
A journey long and fraught with fears
A mother close to giving birth
Fought to hold back pain and tears
And bear a precious, sacred child;
A gift of life throughout the years.

But it was not an easy thing
For them to carry out God’s will;
The path was long and arduous
And Mary nine months pregnant still.
She must have ached with sheer fatigue
How many tears did she let spill

And when they reached God’s chosen place
No feather bed, no show of worth,
but in a cattle croft she crouched
To bring the holy child to birth.
She laid him where the cattle fed
And knelt, still sore, on cold, hard earth

And Joseph must have felt great shame
That this was all he could provide
To house his precious, newborn child
And his beloved and loving bride
And yet he never let despair
Drive him far from her weary side.

There was much glory in that night;
Angels and Kings and stars so bright,
Yet the child Mary held so tight,
That Joseph loved with all his might,
Was more than just the Son of Light;
He was their child, their sweet delight.