We asked some people at Creekwood to answer one of two questions:
“What is your favorite Christmas carol, and what does it tell you about God?”
or
“How do you hear God speaking in the world today?”
We hope you find hope, love, joy, and peace as you hear God speak through these daily devotional reflections.
It’s really hard to narrow down my favorite Christmas song. The first time I hear “Carols of the Bells” by Manheim Steamroller is when I feel like Christmas has arrived. Singing “Joy to the World” means more to me than “Silent Night,” even though the candlelight is one of my favorite moments of the year. But if you want to know my guilty pleasure Christmas song – it’s “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”
Yes, I realize it gets stuck in your head and is painfully annoying, but something about the song captures the magic of Christmas from my youth before December brought with it triple the responsibilities of any normal month for my wife and I. In all the many Christmas tasks I can lose the expectation and excitement of the bigger picture, but when I used to run down the stairs to find out what was in my stocking – ANYTHING could happen! It could be baseball cards, G.I. Joe action figures, the new Super Mario Bros., OR one year I think I asked for an SR-71 Blackbird – because what little kid doesn’t need their own supersonic jet?
The kid who wants a hippopotamus for Christmas has big expectations and a lot of faith. It’s really no different than singing “Let it Snow” in Texas. Outside of February 2021, when we confidently proclaim “Let it Snow” that is an outlandish expectation of faith in a climate not known for white Christmases.
But we are supposed to have big faith. We are supposed to dream big, and see the bigger picture of possibilities. We are supposed to believe that anything is possible with God, and while we use our intellect and reason plenty – we sing “O Come All Ye Faithful,” not “O Come All Ye Certain.”
I hope and pray that God amazes you this Christmas because you have allowed yourself the chance to be amazed.
Peace,
David Lessner
