WHAT WE WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

November 16, 1999

How often we have prayed for this I really cannot say,
But seeing what we mostly miss should choose our gift for Christmas Day;
Not a shiny brand new car, nor trinkets fair to line our shelves,
But just to know who we are, that we might now reclaim ourselves.

“Burnout” blasts our fondest dreams: thwarts achievement of our goals;
Loosens us at all our seams; takes apart our very souls;
This illness comes, I am told, by those who really ought to know,
To the brave, to the bold, who give their best as they go.

We term this busy sort of life our measure of success:
Few times to love our wife; and those times marred by weariness;
No time to watch a sunset; to take a family walk;
To talk about the problems met; to have a family talk.

Moderation is our need; God saw that His first great week;
His creation, we now read, brought God at last His rest to seek;
So, Santa, when you pack your sleigh, please pack for all this one great gift:
A calmer, gentler, moderate way to move the burdens we must lift.