Snow

Each year, I look for new Christmas songs. My favorite of all time is O Come, O Come Emmanuel, but I'm a Christmas music junky, so I've always got to find more.

This year, I found Snow, by Sleeping at Last. 

Snow - Sleeping at Last 

The branches have traded
Their leaves for white sleeves
All warm blooded creatures make ghosts as they breathe
Scarves are wrapped tightly like gifts under trees 

Christmas lights tangle in knots annually
All families huddle closely
Betting warmth against the cold
All the bruises seem to surface
Like mud beneath the snow 

So we sing carols softly
As sweet as we know
A prayer that our burdens will lift as we go
Like young love still waiting under mistletoe
We'll welcome December with tireless hope 

Let our bells keep on ringing
Making angels in the snow
And may the melody disarm us
When the cracks begin to show 

Like the petals in our pockets
May we remember who we are
Unconditionally cared for
By those who share our broken hearts 

The table is set
And all glasses are full
Though pieces go missing
May we still feel whole
We'll build new traditions in place of the old
Cause life without revision will silence our souls

Let the bells keep on ringing
Making angels in the snow
And may the melody surround us
When the cracks begin to show 

Like the petals in our pockets
May we remember who we are
Unconditionally cared for
By those who share our broken hearts 

As gentle as feathers
The snow piles high
Our world gets rewritten and retraced every time
Like fresh plates and clean slates
Our future is white
New Years resolutions are reset tonight

This song is my prayer this Christmas. In the midst of balancing work and play and family and friends, the midst of trying to make this Christmas special and beautiful with my family, in the midst of traveling to a huge conference I'm helping lead the day after Christmas, I need this song. I need these reminders. I need this:

Tireless hope. New traditions. Remembering that we are unconditionally cared for by those who share our broken hearts.