“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”

Do you remember the wonder of a kaleidoscope? As a child I remember peering into a tube with mirrors and pieces of colorful glass. The reflections made amazing patterns that changed when the tube was rotated.

As a grownup, I’m just as intrigued.

Christmas is a cluster of images, thoughts and emotions; a collection of odd bits of memory, passages of music and  snippets of conversation. When these images are reflected in the mirror of memory, they form a kaleidoscope of the holidays. It’s as though we’re looking through a colorful lens at patterns and prisms that dazzle the eye and stir up long-forgotten emotions.

Each element is keenly felt, yet the combination is a heady mixture of joy and pain, fulfillment and need. Please join me as I try to capture sound, color and light in a Christmas collage.

Christmas is the cry of a baby, changing the world forever.

It’s the kiss of peppermint,

the comfort of hot cocoa,

a moveable feast.

Christmas is the peal of a bell,

a tangle of lights,

a shiver of hope,

a right jolly old elf.

It’s an awkward hello and a tearful goodbye.

It’s an empty chair, an aching heart.

Christmas is a velvet dress,

a sticky giggle,

a weary soldier,

a solitary meal.

It’s a whisper of snow,

a hint of pine,

a toothless grin,

a festive package.

It’s a hope deferred, a fragile truce.

It’s a living crèche,

a dying wish,

a watchful prayer.

Christmas is a drink from the cup of Forgiveness — even when the dregs are bitter.

It’s the bray of a donkey,

the blending of carolers,

a crackling fire.

And, steady in the East, one bright star presides over all our distress and delight.

Christmas is, forevermore, Emmanuel, God with us.

Kathy Joy’s blog supports www.booksforbondinghearts.com/shop, timely gifts for all seasons.