So, in a strangely meek act of protest, I sat down this morning to write a new hymn, a Christmas hymn. I wanted to do something different for my dad this year. He's notoriously hard to shop for, anyway. So I wrote this hymn in his honor, thinking about his difficult journey and what it means to all of us.
Maybe you'll find it meaningful. In any case, writing this slowed me down for a while and made me think. I'm grateful for that.
"A Feast That Never Ends"
A Christmas Hymn for My Dad
Christmas, 2010
Text: A Christmas Hymn by Dave Grishaw-Jones
Tune: Dove of Peace (Southern Harmony, 1835)
We wander through the darkening days,
Our flesh and spirits sore.
Though life is hard and friends are scarce,
We dare believe in more,
We dare believe in more.
On twisted roads through wind and rain,
We weeping go alone,
But Christ our friend comes gently now,
And Christ will lead us home,
And Christ will lead us home.
So many myst’ries, great unknowns,
We ride through time and space,
And Christ our savior meets us here,
With wondrous love and grace,
With wondrous love and grace.
Beneath the frozen winter crust
A lively seed is born,
And Christ will rise into the light,
Some lovely springtime morn,
Some lovely springtime morn.
And in the warming summer sun,
We’ll gather once again,
And Christ will spread a feast of love
A feast that never ends,
A feast that never ends.
