Joy to the World2010417113518

							        Joy to the World
                I love Christmas.
         A time for family and friends,
     of detachment from my everyday life
           with its cares and stress
 and the worry of what the view year may bring.

          A time of giving and receiving.
    The preparation is more than half the joy,
    turning my world upside down for a while,
    thinking of what others would appreciate,
         instead of the usual selfishness.

       At Christmas I revel in being family,
  but many don't enjoy this feeling of belonging,
           some by choice, but mostly
    by misunderstandings and disagreements.

      For many a street kid or an old man
       the soup kitchen or a rented room
        is their only semblance of home.
    The wayward daughter, the rejected son,
         the abused wife avid children
     thank God for the Salvos at Christmas.

The once professional man, now with bristled chin,
      no contact with loved ones for years,
   The Age for His mattress on a park bench,
     enjoys a three-course Christmas dinner
       with many others with tousled hair
                and gappy smiles,
          and thank God for the Salvos.

Our Father God knows the sorrows of the streets.
         Justice and integrity will come
        only through the Prince of Peace.

      Peace on earth and joy to the world
  just a glimpse of when Jesus comes to reign,
       transforming this fractured world
              with dignity avid truth,
        as King of kings and Lord of lords.

              The inspired Handel,
      after writing The Messiah, declared
  "I’ve been in the presence of the Almighty!"
        At Christmas way this be your lot.

                                              Ron Pounder, December 2008