O Come All Ye Faithful

I cannot believe December is here already.  Time just keeps moving right along.  Sometimes I feel Mom and Dad's passing has been forgotten.  The days and months march right along as though nothing happened.  Sometimes my life seems so normal and then something will strike me and their memory comes flooding back.

I attended my first Christmas concert of the season last night.  My son, Mike, was kind enough to escort me.  It was the Vespers program at Milliken University in Decatur, Illinois.  What an eventful evening it was!  I am grateful to my dear friend Eric Hendrickson for providing my son and I with tickets.  The music was heavenly.  I was struck by the discipline of the choir members in their presentation.  The message was divine as well.  I literally had goose bumps from the very first song.

At a few points during evening they had the audience stand and sing along on some of the old standard Christmas carols.  One of the songs they asked us to join in on was "O Come All Ye Faithful".  As we were singing I thought how much Mom and Dad would enjoy this concert.  Then came the verse:

Sing choirs of angels.  Sing in exultation.  
Sing all ye citizens of heaven above.  
Glory to God all glory in the highest.
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. 

As soon as I saw the familiar words, "Sing all ye citizens of heaven above" flash on the screen I immediately thought I could hear Dad's beautiful tenor voice and mom's tender soprano voice singing along with us.  For a moment I could not sing at all.  I just listened.  Are you there?  Are you singing praises to God?

Then the answer came, Yes!  Yes we are singing praises to our Lord right along with you, Donna.  With tears in my eyes I sang the rest of the song with new gusto.  All the citizens of heaven are singing along!

Psalm 149:1-4 (The Message)

 Hallelujah!
Sing to God a brand-new song,
    praise him in the company of all who love him.
Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
    Zion’s children exult in their King.
Let them praise his name in dance;
    strike up the band and make great music!
And why? Because God delights in his people,
    festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!