A Gray Christmas

“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas!”  
But what happens when the clouds cover the Light? When the stars vanish and don’t shine so bright?  
When I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I want the gray to turn to white so that all will be merry and bright? 
 
Should I run to stores and endless sales to find some peace in a world that fails?  
Or cling to traditions, parties, and fun, hoping joy will sneak in, even for one? Maybe it’s family, and friends I love, that bring the happiness that keeps flying away like a dove.  
But I keep chasing, stressing, missing,  
and wonder where this joy is hiding. 
 
I wait.  
I ponder.  
I wonder.  
What am I missing? 
 
It’s Christ — the reason, the celebration, the one who brings true salvation.  
From darkness, from fear, from nights so long, when the stars are gone, He’s still strong. 
He brought light — hope, joy, peace, and love — when He left Heaven and came from above, born in a manger in Bethlehem town, to lift the gray clouds and turn it around. 
 
“All will be merry and bright” when Christ is fixed in my sight.  
Even on gray days,  
Even in the fight,  
His light makes all the wrongs ultimately right.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hayden Norris has been the lead pastor of Crosspoint Bible Church in Omaha, NE, since 2021. He is married to Heather, and they have two sons and a daughter.