Hark The Herald Angels Sing....

This is the time of year when some of us single people start making assessments of our lives and wonder if there will ever be the right person to come along or be presented to. Its a time when we are invited to family gatherings to exchange gifts. Its a time when we should be happy, but during those family gatherings, whether you make those self actualizing assessments or not, your family has and will undoubtedly know what's best for you when they think you don't. The questions of if you will ever marry anyone or will Nana ever have any great grand children or did you meet Mrs. Wilson's daughter/son down the road? She/he's back in town and is single too. Or the actual "fix-up" was invited to spend the night just to see what you look like in the morning and how you deal with your day.

Ah, family.... you didn't design them and they won't allow you to redesign them either - no matter how much you plead. Yet, if they were any different then who they are, you would not be the person you are. That's a good thing. Being single at the age you are right now, you don't feel like its all that good, but it is (Philippians 4:11 AMP). You have been created for a time such as this...someone needed you at a crucial moment in their life and you never thought it was a big deal but it was to them. Life has changed for several people because of your existence. My mother told me that when you think no one is looking at you, that's when someone is. Not in that stalker crazy way but in a way where the person is emulating your mannerisms, desiring to be more like you, admiring how you can take a stressful situation and deal calmly with the problem (Matthew 5:16 AMP). Its your own message from God without you even trying.

A couple of weeks ago, a man took his life. I didn't know him very well but I saw him all of the time. He had a girlfriend and she loved him dearly. He was an elderly man but you couldn't tell by looking at him. He kept himself physically fit and looked as if he was middle aged. Retired, he didn't waste a moment just lazing around. He swam everyday and traveled extensively. Just returning back from the tropics he noticed a tremor he had was getting worse. He lost his balance once and decided to go see a doctor to find if there was anything wrong with him. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. The next day, his remains were discovered. The question that I have heard when someone has made a decision to leave this world is, how could a person be so selfish? There is a myriad of answers that has nothing to do with what God thinks of the matter. Can a person, who loves the Lord, be so depressed about his/her circumstances that leaving this world is the answer (John 10:27 AMP)? There is no way to answer that when you put Jesus in the equation....and because of that, the first question is answered.

You see, its this time of year when we are not the focus. We are supposed to be thinking of others, if not during this season - when? If being at home alone is depressing, go out and be elsewhere. If going to the family gathering to answer the same questions is something to dread, don't go.  If watching couples skating, holding hands and kissing when you don't have anyone to hold makes you feel melancholy, find something else to do. Can't think of anything? Go to a crisis center and answer phone calls of others feeling the same way or are worse off then you. Pray for them (James 5:16 AMP). Go to a soup kitchen and serve passing out bread or dishing out some soup. Go to the children's hospital and give some gifts or read a story to children who are less fortunate then you (James 1:27 AMP). Just as many complaints one can give, there are so many reasons not to. Complaints come from focusing on one'self most of the time (Philippians 2:14 AMP). There are 24 hours in a day - place most of that time on someone else (2 Corinthians 9:7 AMP). If that didn't shake "the blahs" off, do what was previously suggested for more then an hour, and again the next day. Just be more aware of others and what you can do for them.

What does this have to do with being single? Everything. You aren't just single, you are a Christian. We strive to be more like Christ. If He spent His day thinking of Himself, we wouldn't be called Christians. We would be sinners on our way to hell.

Why was this entry entitled from the lyric of a Christmas carol? I was in a restaurant last week and the holiday music was wafting through the establishment. I heard this song and was humming it in my mind and had to stop because I recognized that the singer changed the words to the song. I stopped humming and listened to the rest of the course just in case I got something wrong. Nope, she changed it. The song I remember without checking the lyrics on google, went something like this:

Hark, the herald angels sing,

Glory to the new born King.

Peace on earth and mercy mild,

God and sinner reconciled.

Joyful all ye nations rise,

Joyful are the triumphant skies,

With angelic host proclaim,

Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Hark, the herald angels sing,
Glory to, the new born King!

What the singer changed was glory to the new born King to Jesus Christ is born. I suppose one could think its practically the same thing and shouldn't mean that much. So why change it? If this subtle change is acceptable, what else will be changed? The bible was taken out of the public school system. The children changed and everyone noticed that. Who said, that the bibles should be put back? Everyone. Did it happen yet? Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior. It is the one time when the spirit is around the world in full strength. People can't help but to smile. Be aware of those subtle changes around you. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Notice more then yourself and pray. Always be vigilant in your prayers. Always.