One Solitary Life

Karen here... tonight we were just sitting around and I decided to go on the blog and listen to "O Holy Night" with my dad and brother, Kevin singing. My dad has always loved that song. Of course, I ended up in a puddle. Just seeing him looking so well and singing so beautifully made me realize how much I already miss him. While he is still having times where he is awake and engaged, he is much subdued and has trouble getting his words together at times. Anyway... all this got me thinking about Christmas and how much Dad loves this time of year. For a long time, every Christmas, Dad would read "One Solitary Life". I'd like to share it with you. For those of you who know Dad personally, you can imagine him reading this with great emotion and dramatic affect:

He was born in a stable in an obscure village.
From there He traveled, less than 200 miles.
He never won an election,
He never went to college,
He never owned a home,
He never had a lot of money.
He became a nomadic preacher,
Popular opinion turned against Him,
He was betrayed by a close friend,
And His other friends ran away.
He was unjustly condemned to death,
Crucified on a cross among common thieves,
On a hill overlooking the town dump,
And when dead, laid in a borrowed grave.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone,
Empires have risen and fallen,
Mighty armies have marched,
And powerful rulers have reigned.
Yet no one has affected men as much as He,
He is the central figure of the human race,
He is the Messiah, the Son of God,
Jesus Christ.

My dad has never been a man shy to show emotion. This poem often made him cry. He loves the Lord and the way this poem expressed it always touched him. Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Karen