bethlehem town...

wow...christmas is over. so much anticipation for a day that comes so slowly but ends so quickly. i'm working on putting all our christmas decorations away over the next couple days...i've gotta get them all taken down before john and i head to mexico. we leave on the third...so i have a few more days. it's so sad putting all the decorations away...knowing a whole 'nother year will go by until i see them again. the house seems so empty now...

but anyways...i was listening to one of my favorite christmas cds one last time before i put it away last night (although they never really go away since i do have a terrible habit of listening to my christmas music year round...haha!)...and i wanted to share the lyrics to one of the songs on it with you...it's by jars of clay (of course it is!)...and it's called bethlehem town...

oh mary, joseph, rest your eyes/try not to think of the ending/world full of empty, He will die/but tonight He is still just a child.

the silent night drifts all away/and the angels are dancing around you/there's the joy of knowing He'll save the world/overshadowing the pain that He'll go through

have you cursed at the wind?/have you cried to the heavens?/have you fought with this mercy you don't understand?/when the wise men kneel down/to kiss the hand of this king they found/in bethlehem town...

will you hold back the years awhile?/will you dream that this man could always be a child/and never carry the weight/of the dirt and the distance and the company we keep?/and did the stars shine much brighter that night/"you gave birth to the death that would bring us to life?"/and did the mystery keep you awake?/or was the sound of His little heart too much to take?

oh...i don't understand/when the wise men kneel down/to kiss the hand of this king they found...

have you cursed at the wind?/have you cried to the heavens?/have you fought with this mercy you don't understand?/when the wise men kneel down/to kiss the hand of this king they found/in bethlehem town...

i love that line in quotes..."you gave birth to the death that would bring us to life..." hmmm...wow. what a bittersweet experience mary and joseph had. i wonder if they knew what was gonna happen...or if they just tried not to think about it...or if they ever shook their fist at God and asked why???? did they understand? i can't wait to get to heaven and ask mary all about it.......