A Christmas Carol
Oh, I love a Christmas carol. I count down the days until the Friday after Thanksgiving, the self-imposed start-date for the playing of all Christmas music in my house and my car. From this day and throughout December, all radios are tuned to the 24-hour Christmas station, and I love every song that plays. From a symphony orchestra playing classical seasonal music, to Boyz 2 Men singing "Silent Night." From our own church choirs singing "Jesse's Carol" to The Barenaked Ladies Christmas album. From the Holiday Concert at Severance Hall to the piped-in carols at Giant Eagle, I'm all in. 100%. Hook, line and sinker. Or maybe, hook, line and singer? Because this time of the year, I sing. I sing in my house, my shower, my head, and in my yard while I am decorating. I sing in the grocery aisle and I don't stop when someone passes me with their cart. I sing when I wake my children, I sing while I bake, I sing while I walk. I turn off the TV when it is usually on, and I turn up the radio volume and sing.
I sing in my heart.
If I stop to take notice, there is a Christmas carol running through my head most of the time. Usually, it is "Joy to the World," but often, it is "Angels We Have Heard on High." Yesterday, it was Oh, Holy Night. Did you know that Miley Cyrus has a version of "Oh, Holy Night" on the radio? Yep, I sang along at full volume with her in my van on the way to Old Navy. Good for her. . . it was really lovely.
My son, Jono, loves "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," specifically the version done by Take 6. If you've never heard it, check it out. It's worth it.
I have spoken aloud more than once about the closeness to God I have found in singing. When I am singing, I am praying. I am worshiping. I am connecting with the words that are in the music, and feeling the music that is accompanying those beautiful hymns and songs of praise. So when the list is too long, the day is too short, the children are too busy, the family is scattered, Adam is traveling, and I start to forget why I am in Target, yet again, searching for that one strand of 50 white lights on a green wire, I sometimes stop. I hear the piped in carol, whatever it is at the moment. I take a breath. I HEAR the carol.
I hear "JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME." And sometimes, it makes me cry in Target, (because I'm just a little emotional) but I buy the lights, to decorate my home and light the way. And I choose the gifts, and I finish my list, more mindful now that I am doing so to celebrate the birth of Christ. The Christmas season, at least for me, would not be the same without the carols, without the song that God has placed upon my heart, and reminded me, at so many times, to just sing.
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