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Written by Irene Dickson from The Village Church

There is so much wonderful music in our lives every day, but especially at Christmas when the carols we sing and songs from the holiday movies we watch, evoke warm memories of past times.There are many Christmas carols I love singing and they inevitably bring me to tears. ‘O Holy Night’ is one such song. Another favorite is ‘What Child is This’. They both make me think of that night when Jesus was born in a stable- the calmness, the sense of wonder.One of my favorites is ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’. Hard to imagine such a thing here in San Diego, but the hymn makes me think of a perfect winter scene with lots of snow, a cottage with dim lights at the windows and smoke coming out of the chimney.The hymn describes the scene of Jesus’ birth and makes me think I’m a bystander, wondering what can I do for, or give to a special baby. ‘Yet what I can I give him…. Give my heart’. That’s what Jesus wants us to do – give Him our heart.In addition to the words which were written by Christina Rossetti, I love the music and clearly remember practicing singing the high notes. I even like saying the author’s name, which has stuck with me all those years, and seemed so exotic back then.But most of all, I love the simple message of giving my heart to all those I love. The message of Christmas is love. 

What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. if I were a wise man I would do my part, yet what I can I give him, give my heart.