"Always winter and never Christmas" - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
It was November of 2010 and this quote from the fall musical summed up my feelings at that time pretty well. It was a hard season for me and for others, and it seemed like it was winter, but never Christmas.
I think in some of the Biblical stories, since we have a mile high view, we jump to the happy ending.
Joseph has some bad days, but then becomes #2 in the land.
Mean things are said to Hannah, but she has Samuel.
Ezra and Nehemiah are sad by how Jerusalem is, but no worries, the city is rebuilt by the end.
And uniquely in the Christmas story, but I think often overlooked, are the sad, old couple Zachariah and Elizabeth.
Luke 1:6 highly commends them by saying "Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly."
So these were good people for whom their happy ending hadn't happened - during their long life. Many days had passed - they were old - of disappointment and sadness.
That night in November, I paused here at the piano. I didn't want to rush on to their happy ending. (Yay! John! All sadness forgotten!) No, I think Elizabeth had a lot of sad days.
This song, Elizabeth's Prayer, is about a woman crying. The repeated motifs are her breathing in and out with tears. She's righteous - so she wants to do well before God, thus the chorus "Be Glorified" comes into the song, but at the end, she's still sad. The song ends on a down note because regardless of her righteousness, regardless of her good intentions, at the end of the day, and the end of her many days, Elizabeth is still sad. Many are still sad. And this song doesn't want to move on or push people towards happiness or hope, it just wants to sit with them in their reality.
In years after 2010, I began to share this song at Christmas time with others. To me it represents a part of the Christmas story - holding a place next to "Joy to the World" - where those who are in sadness, seperation, or disappointment can find a listening ear, during a season that is primarily characterized by joy, peace, and hope.
I was thrilled to have April Reed-Cox in the studio to play cello on this song; grateful for the tenderness and compassion the strings added to the emotions of the piece.
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