The Forgotten Carols

So on Saturday night I went to go see this beloved show up in Salt Lake with Cody. Cody dances with me on 10RB...good times. I have heard the story and listened to the music for as long as I can remember. I have seen the actual stage play 5 times and yet..."The Forgotten Carols" amazes me every time. It does not matter how many times I've heard the songs, they still give me chills. I kept thinking it about that all today. I'm not sure why, but those songs were stuck in my head and I kept humming them to myself. I love them so much. I think I love them because they remind me of home and my family. I can remember very vividly sitting with my mama one December afternoon in middle school while everyone else was gone. We read the book and played the music when indicated. I remember Krista singing the shepherd's song, "He Was Here" at sacrament meetings with daddy playing the piano. I remember thinking the guy that sang the 3 kings song on the soundtrack sounded like my daddy and loving when daddy would sing it. I remember feeling the magic that comes with the story and music. I've been feeling it for years and I felt it once again while I sat in that auditorium on Saturday night.

As always the 3 Kings song, "I Cannot Find My Way" got me. My favorite part of the song says, "We're not alone we have a star and it shines today. The love that He gave teaches how and shows the way. That light is clear to see if we have faith and believe, 3 kings found the Lord and so can we. And if you've lost your way, that light burns bright today and it will shine eternally. 3 kings found the Lord and so must we." Gosh I love that! If there's anything I've learned [and I seem to have to learn it over and over] is that I am not alone. Even though it feels like that somedays, I have to remember that the star that appeared in the sky 2000+ years ago to mark the birth of the Savior is still here. No...it's not a physical star, but we have the gift of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we follow the gospel and have faith, the path to the Savior is easy to see. And we must find Him, as the song says. I truly understand the significance of putting a star on top of the tree.

Michael McLean always ends the show by showcasing his own personal carol called "Arise and Shine Forth" which makes me want to be in a Southern Baptist Church because it just makes you jump up and down because you feel the spirit so strong! Music is powerful and truly testifies of the Savior. My favorite line from that song says: "And the torch that's a standard for the nations all to see, Is the light of the world shining through me." I can only hope that I hold my testimony as a torch so everyone can see the love of Christ through me.

Then of course Michael's very last thing he does is make us all link arms and sing "We can be together forever someday." Cody's and my neighbors weren't too keen on that idea and denied our linkage...so we just had each other. And even though it may seem cheesy, it's so true. We can be together forever. All of us. Yes we think of it more in terms of our spouses and families, but as friends and members of the church we can all be together forever as well. This gospel is a gospel of happiness. And that makes me happy. Knowing I'll be not only with my family, but my best friends as well...those people that make me want to be better.

Thank you Michael McLean for sharing those messages of the forgotten people in the Christmas story. For reminding me to let Him in, that He came to this earth and will come again someday, and that I am not lost if I follow the star. It officially feels like Christmas...Dec. 25th can't come fast enough.