'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the town
People were stirring, and rushing around.
Stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
but Walmart was open and they all crowded there.
My children, at home, were nestled safely inside,
hoping for an xBox or iPhones I couldn't provide.
My wife knelt by her bedside to pray
that I'd return safe as the sun rose the next day
But suddenly my radio came alive with a clatter
and my blood chilled as I heard what was the matter.
Away to the scene I raced in a flash,
siren a blaring I soon round the crash.
My headlights illuminated the new-fallen snow
and lit up the bodies laying face down in the road.
When what to my tear filled eyes did appear,
but a drunken young mother whose babies had not been secure.
The hours passed quickly after taking her to jail,
a family fight, a liquor store robbery, and people with drugs for sale.
A glance at the clock, two hours to go
a gentle rain had again turned back into snow.
Large, gentle flakes covered the ground
For a moment I sat in silence, not hearing a sound
"How can it be", I pleaded, "on the night celebrating your birth,
there is no peace, nor good will on this earth."
Then still, but strong, a voice from within
"I came to make this all right and heal men from their sin.
What you saw tonight, and each night that you work
is precisely the reason I was born on the earth."
And as the sun rose on a new Christmas morn,
I thanked God for a babe that a virgin had borne.
No present purchased online or in store,
could have softened my heart and caused it to soar.
As I drove through the soft, pure, powdery snow
my heart filled with love for all here below.
Into my driveway, and oh what a sight
out rushed my children with excited delight.
I held them all close and felt God exclaim,
"For I so loved the world that I sent Him to save".
by Gary Dudley
