The Hope Of Christmas
In the midst of my sorrows, troubles and tears,
I sought the Lord and He saved me from my fears.
In this time when you are overwhelmed by loss,
Remember the Saviour who died on the cross –
That’s my hope this Christmas.
Struggling to overcome my dark addictions,
And learning to make some braver decisions;
You broke through all those chains that held me so tight,
You scattered my darkness because You’re my Light –
That’s my hope this Christmas.
This Christmas, I know you’re not celebrating,
But our reunion’s worth anticipating.
My struggling heart’s not the end of the story;
Eternity awaits in realms of glory –
That’s my hope this Christmas.
Jesus came to this earth to show us the way;
He paid for sin’s debt – one we could never pay.
Salvation’s His gift offered to us by grace,
Receiving eternal life with Him by faith –
That’s the hope of Christmas.
December 3rd, 2010
Jerry Bouey
(Dedicated to Lindsay Guenther)
Psalm 34:4-6 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Lindsay was a friend to many at the Gospel Mission where I work. She trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation about two years ago (ie. about two years before the date of this poem), and was making many wise choices to separate from harmful influences in her life and from friends that would only drag her down spiritually and by tempting her back into her addictions. Unfortunately, her house became an unsafe place for her, and Lindsay was truly seeking to find new housing where she would not be exposed to those addictions. She cleaned up, she spent many hours volunteering at the mission, and was such a help and a blessing. She met regularly with the chaplain at the Mission to work on overcoming those addictions and learn more from God’s Word.
We only know part of what happened on November 28th, 2010. Tragically, she overdosed through the influence of one of those bad “friends.” Even though we are saddened by her sudden loss – her story ends in glory. Her hope this Christmas was the Saviour that came to give her life – that same Saviour that took her home, away from all her struggles and fears – to be with Him.
This poem is an attempt to see things from Lindsay’s perspective. The title of the poem is a line that I had going through my mind all afternoon before writing this poem.