Day 1

Day 1 of our Advent Calendar at Hope Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, SD

Contributor: Linda Koepsell

Christmas Cards, Author unknown
I have a list of folks I know all written in a book,
And every year at Christmas time, I go and take a look,
And that is when I realize that these names are a part,
Not of the book they’re written in, but of my very heart.

For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime
And in that meeting they’ve become the rhythm in each rhyme.
And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,
I really feel that I’m composed of each remembered name.

And while you may not be aware of any “special link”
Just meeting you has shaped my life more than you can think.
For once I’ve met somebody, the years cannot erase
The memory of a pleasant word or of a friendly face.

So never think my Christmas cards are just a mere routine
Of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between,
For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you
It’s because you’re on the list of folks I’m indebted to.

For I am but a total of the many folks I’ve met
And you happen to be one of those I prefer never to forget,
And whether I have known you for many years or few,
In some ways you have had a part of shaping things I do.

And every year when Christmas comes, I realize anew
The best gift life can give is meeting folks like you
And may the Spirit of Christmas that forever endures,
Leave its richest blessings in the heart of You and Yours’.