Happy Birthday

when I was a child
heard many a thing
about God in His Heaven
and angels who sing

and streets paved of gold
and the one at the gate
whose keeping a record
of me on a slate

the things that I do
and the things that I say
It scared me to think that
I'd sin anyway

and I wanted to know
how the God of great love
could measure our worth
by the things we think of

not knowing Him then
well I listened to men
who knew less about God
than they did their own end

so I prayed to the One
asking right from my heart
tell me true, are you there
have you been from the start?

can you please help me sort
through the myth and the magic
the lies of religion
the hopeless and tragic?

can you meet me right here
just where i am
in my darkness and failures
are you really I AM?

and what of the others
who labor for nothing
who have not and hunger for
turkey and stuffing?

on the streets, in the cold
stumbling drunk in the alleys
red-handed, white lies, and deep blues
in the valleys?

at our weakest, and numb
from the heartache of losing
the ones that we love,
left behind with a bruising

will we find you in throne rooms
in the back of our mind
some Wizard of Oz
that we're seeking to find?

A whisper, an answer
a thought I just had
was it me...was it you
could it be, that I'm mad?

But wait, there again,
yes, it's something inside
saying " open the door
and I'll come without pride."

"Ask Me, I'll tell you
I'll lead you along
NOT ONE WORD WAS WRITTEN
disproven or wrong"

"And as for the poor
and the weak and your past
Your sins are forgotten
and the first shall be last."

"I've chosen the weak things
to confound the wise
I turn it around
for the greatest surprise"

"The ONE that I loved
the dearest of all
the babe in the manger
with the horse in the stall"

He grew to a man
and we know him as Jesus
fulfilled the great plan
and wow, how he sees us...

He bore all our burdens
and gave us the ring,
we are his bride
and HE is our King

and the more that I trust him
the more I debate
I need to ask questions
regarding our fate

is God all around us
is heaven for real
does He care for our flesh
and the way that we feel?

is one day like a thousand
as thousands are lost
in the floods and the fires
and the wars and the frost?

I'll wait for the answers
and try to be still
like the child in the manger
and the cow on the hill

I will study to find myself
well in your sight
while we sit by the fire
and chat through the night

and when Christmas has finally
dawned on our days
and we celebrate giving
in so many ways

I must keep in mind
how you wiped clean the slate
for once and for all
you reopened that gate

and I must not forget
though I'm often at fault
that you want me to shine
to be light, to be salt

and always remember
that You are the reason
I celebrate Christmas
no matter the season.

Happy Birthday Jesus!