Ever-present Emmanuel,
Stand out to me this season
in colorful lights illuminating houses on a winter evening,
in carols and Christmas tunes too familiar from repetition,
in hand-crafted (and mass-produced) nativity scenes —
even the garish ones.
But more than these, stand out to me
in the bubbling-over, bounce-off-the-walls joy of children,
in the hidden tears and lonely heartache of a friend,
in the jubilant chorus of “Gloria!” silently ringing through
nature’s hibernation.
Ever-present Emmanuel,
stand out to me this season.
