A Still, Small Voice

It was Christmas Eve, and I was feeling sorry for myself.

There were not any programs at our church, and my husband and I were spending Christmas Eve alone again. Our adult children all had their own lives.

The oldest son, our daughter-in-law, and our three grandchildren always travel to California to spend the holidays with her family.

Our oldest daughter is a firefighter, and she was scheduled to work.

Another daughter was at her boyfriend’s family festivities, and our youngest son worked at a ministry that was over a thousand miles away.

I looked at the pictures on Facebook of my siblings’ families as they gathered together and felt jealous. Life just did not seem fair.

As I thought about it, I realized I was not the first person to feel lonely on a holiday. Another Facebook post depicted the Bethlehem scene with Mary and Joseph and the Baby in the manger. It read, “The first Christmas was pretty simple. It’s OK if yours is too.” That helped me adjust my reality and reframe my thoughts with a better perspective.

So, sitting in bed, I opened my hymnal app and selected Christmas melodies. I began to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Joy to the World,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and more. I belted out these beautiful hymns at the top of my lungs.

After singing about a dozen anthems, I asked my husband if he had enjoyed my Christmas concert. I am sure he was mildly amused by it.

After singing, it was then I felt Him.

Sensed His Presence.

Just as Mary and Joseph must have felt the holiness of the hour at the birth of Jesus—even in such a simple place as a cave, in a small town away from family.

I felt He was saying to me that it was OK to be alone with Him in a quiet place on this night. My family might not have been there, but He was with me.

He would never leave me or forsake me, for He came to bring “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10, NKJV). Even to me.

So take heart. If you are feeling lonely today and wish circumstances could be different, the Lord is with you. Listen, and you will hear the still, small voice, bringing comfort and cheer.

Karen M. Phillips