A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 1/12

Lord, I miss the warm, joyful glow of my Christmas lights

but still with me is a gift from under my tree:

a vermilion Amaryllis,

a friend I now call Amy...

She came as a waxed bulb

with just a nub of topside green

- and clear instructions: add no water!

(What a grace, Lord - a plant I cannot harm!)

Then, with the speed of a weed,

Amy's nub became a stalk,

then buds, soaking in the sun,

blooming orange red,

warming me in turn

- a gift that keeps on giving...

Amy doesn't fear the virus, Lord,

she knows nothing of vaccines,

she's not registered to vote

and she's immune to fear and worry...

She lives to share her beauty,

nothing more is on her mind,

nothing less concerns her soul:

she is yours, Lord, yours alone,

though for the moment,

shared with me...

I thank you for Amy's beauty, Lord,

but even more for her unspoken wisdom:

her witness to you, her Maker,

her faith in you,

that you will always care

for each one you've created...

Lord, make me more like my friend, Amy:

warm me with your grace,

bring me to my full growth;

free my soul of doubt and fear;

help me live to share your glory,

to be yours and yours alone...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake,

keep me safe while I'm asleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

Though Christy Nockels wrote this song in 2019, it has amazing

relevance to our circumstances now in 2021.

Amaryllis by Christy Nockels

Talk about a winter
The world had never known,
Talk about a silence
That hardened up the soil;
No more life left in Eden,
But You knew the time would come...
'Cause You were growing up a family
That You would call Your own,
And through a fragile people
The Light of Life would come,
And when it seemed like we'd never see Spring,
Heaven gave a King!

Like an Amaryllis, blooming at Christmas,
When everything was cold and dark
Your love broke through and You shined
With the brilliance of summer,
Right in the middle of winter!
You came surprising the night,
Like a Christmas Amaryllis...

Here I am waiting
In a winter of my own
If it's gonna be this cold here
Why couldn't it just snow?
At least I could say through the pain
That it's somehow beautiful...
And everybody knows that the time to bloom is spring,
But You're asking to break through the hardness of this freeze
And You say that You're with me
And I can make it through anything....

Like an Amaryllis, blooming at Christmas,
When everything is cold and dark
Your love breaks through and I shine
With the brilliance of summer,
Right in the middle of winter!
Somehow surprising the night
Like a Christmas Amaryllis...

There are the rare and beautiful treasures
That grow when it's coldest
When nobody's watching...
Sending a message to a sleeping world
That You are here with us now
And You are making all things new again...

Like an Amaryllis, blooming at Christmas,
When everything is cold and dark
Your love breaks through and You shine!
With the brilliance of summer,
Right in the middle of winter!
Ever surprising the night,
Like a Christmas Amaryllis
You're still surprising the night
Like a Christmas Amaryllis...