"I Held Him for a While"
(Written by Becky Byrd)
I fell asleep on Christmas Eve
Beside my miniature manger
When I awoke, something had changed
The room seemed different, stranger
The tree that stood by the window
Decked in red and green and blue
Now was enveloped in a haze
That shone with golden hue
I rubbed my eyes and looked again
The tree was so much taller
Then I realized the tree hadn't grown
It was me, I had grown smaller
I struggled down from where I sat
The chair was awfully high
Then I looked at all the furniture
Which stood much higher than I
I walked across the darkened room
To where the manger stood
There was fragrances of spices
And the hay smelled fresh and good
Something now was different
I could feel it in the air
The figures standing in their place
No longer had statues' stare
They smiled and murmured low
As they stood and looked in awe
Their voices were filled with wonder
At the miracle they saw
I was motionless, too scared to move
But I seemed to have no choice
A calming warmth came over me
As I heard an Angel's voice
"Peace on earth, good will to men"
In a golden, mellow tone
I smiled and began to walk about
No longer felt alone
I passed three men, one on his knees
All dressed in silk and jewels
There were ducks and geese underfoot
And dogs and cows and mules
Shepherd boys were looking too
As they herded up their sheep
They all were there to gaze upon
The baby fast asleep
A man stood near a makeshift crib
He was tall as he stood in place
A man of strength and authority
But with gentleness on his face
A young woman sat by the sleeping babe
You could tell by her saintly smile
That she was the Virgin Mary
The mother of the child
Then I looked down at the baby
And my heart began to race
For I saw the love and grace of God
Shining in the cherub's face
I didn't know if those who watched
Could see me, I had to guess
So, trembling, I asked to pick Him up
And His mother nodded yes
I lifted Him gently from His bed
And held him for a while
He took my finger with His tiny hand
Then looked up at me and smiled
Somehow I knew that I must go
I returned Him to His place
I turned to smile at Mary
And tears glistened on her face
The room grew black, I could not see
The people were no longer there
I closed my eyes, then opened them
And I was sitting in my chair
My sight was still quite blurry
So I rubbed my sleeping eyes
The room looked as it had before
Everything was back to size
I walked over to the Manger
But there was no sign of life
The statue of Joseph was motionless
As was the one of his wife
It must have been a dream, I thought
For everything was in place
But, again I looked at Mary
And there were tears upon her face
Did I fall asleep and have a dream
I'm not sure what to believe
Or did God allow me by His grace
To go back to that first Christmas Eve?
"In those days Caesar Augustus
issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
(This was the first census that took
place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town
to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he
belonged to the house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary,
who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came
for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped
him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in
the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in
the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the
Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'
Suddenly a great company of the
heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'
When the angels had left them and gone
into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see
this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'
So they hurried off and found Mary and
Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they
spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who
heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things
and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and
praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they
had been told." Luke 2:1-20 (NIV)
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