Christmas 1998 was difficult for me. My grandmother, Fern Dahlen, passed away on December 21. Her funeral was held on December 26. Reflecting on her loss and how we celebrated that Christmas, there are a couple things that stand out in my mind. My older brother was in California at the time. When he learned that our grandmother was not long for this world, he started driving. It would be the first Christmas all six of Bob and Sheila Dahlen’s children had spent together for seven years. We have not all been together since then. That time was precious.
The second thing that stands out in my memory was our worship at Bethany Church that Christmas Eve. We sang many of the hymns that will be sung in our gatherings this year. We will light the candles and sing “Silent Night, Holy Night”. We will join together in “Joy to the World the Lord has come!” The verse that stands out most to me was one that I had vocalized every year from the time I was little. “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,.” The difference for me as my grandmother’s death cast a shadow over the happiest time of the year was the end of verse 3:
Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die
Born to raise each child of earth, born to give us second birth.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, “Glory to the newborn king!”
Our Lord has broken into this world, not so we would be happy, not that we would lives lives free from pain and sadness, but that we might be given life in the time to come. The words of this hymn remain a comfort to me as each year I remember that Grandma Fern lives with the saints in light. Our Lord came to dwell among us that in death we would receive the gift of eternal life, our second birth.
Many struggle with the holidays as seats at our tables are empty. Sometime these losses are recent, others, like my grandma are 21 years past or more. Some of us approach this season with joy and wonder and hope. Some with dread because the weight of grief is great and heavy.
Each Christmas Eve, I walk into Bethany Church and remember my Grandmother because the gift of that hymn was a blessing. It changed the way I thought about our Lord’s coming and the promise we are given in Christ. I pray that wherever you find yourselves on your journey that you will be comforted with the true gift of God. We will be reunited with those who have gone before us. We will know the joy and peace of Heaven. Thanks be to God!
