Right now Peter and I are listening to the music that accompanies the George C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol." This time of year, we have Christmas music playing pretty much continually...and, oh my, we never tire of it! We've collected a fairly vast collection of Christmas CD's, ranging from classical to jazz to contemporary Christian to you-name-it. So every day, we pull out four or five CD's and start enjoying this most joyous of music. How thankful I am for the gift of singing and music, for as Martin Luther once declared, "As long as we live, there is never enough singing." Amen!
But of all our CD's the one playing right now might be our favorite--in fact, Peter specifically requested it to "help" him study for exams. And why this particular CD? Well, for one thing it's homemade--created by one of Richard's closest friends, George DeLoache. You see George adores and appreciates Christmas as much as anyone you'll ever meet...which means he loves the lovely carols and songs from this most wonderful of seasons. George knows how much we love this music (more on that in a moment), so he personally contacted the composer--since these particular pieces are not available on any kind of CD--to get permission to record them. Now that's a true friend--way to go, George!
And we love this music that accompanies "A Christmas Carol" (only the George C. Scott version, mind you), because our family cherishes the tradition of watching it every Christmas Eve night. Same routine every year--we attend our church's wonderful Christmas Eve service, eat dinner, and, of course, sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before eating a big slice of birthday cake. And then, late on Christmas Eve, we watch old Scrooge once again rediscover the wonder and joy of Christmas.
So as I sit here listening to George's CD, I'm transported to one of the sweetest times of my whole year--those happy minutes on Christmas Even of sitting in front of a warm fire and savoring every single moment of being with the people dearest to me in the whole world while watching, yet again, Charles Dickens beautiful tale of reclamation and redemption. Just remembering and anticipating it brings such joy and gratitude!
I also need to add that George's fabulous CD also includes selections from the good old Charlie Brown Christmas special (again--makes you smile with delight! We love you, Charlie Brown, and thank you, Linus, for sharing directly from the Gospels, the real story of Jesus' birth), the Christmas episode from Andy Griffin (which will make you cry), and "Home Alone, " among others. Did I mention this is one fine, fine CD?
So how about you? Have you thanked the Lord lately for the simple, but oh so meaningful, traditions of Christmas? Yes, above all else, we celebrate anew the birth of our Savior. That's why we're here! But don't forget to rejoice in some of the other gifts of the season--the music, the food, the smells, the memories, the beloved ornaments, the old family nativity sets...all those familiar--yet never mundane or routine--wonders and blessings all around us. Familiar...yet wondrous. Familiar...yet joyous. Familiar...yet supernatural.
Happy Advent! Happy Birthday! Thank You for coming, Lord Jesus!
To God be the glory.
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