Children of the Almighty God

I wrote this poem May 27, 2010 for a friend with low self-esteem. It's something we all struggle with from time to time, myself included, and it's good to remind ourselves of how valuable and needed we are.

Image by tomertu, Adobe Stock

My brother, you're a prince
My sister, you're a princess
And not just any prince or princess
But children of the highest King above all kings.

You're squires in His service
You're warriors of His mighty Kingdom
Ambassadors to a fallen world
To represent our great Father and to bring in more.
The glorious, almighty God thinks so much of you
That He gave up His glory and His life
To make you His beloved child.

So where did you get this idea
That you are worth so little?
You rank higher than the child of any human monarch!

Once we were worth nothing
Until the King of Kings adopted us
And made us His treasured children.

Compared to the Almighty God,
We are nothing
But in the eyes of the Almighty God,
We are everything.

Christmas in the Northwest

Christmas in the Northwest is not as well-known of a song as most other Christmas carols, but it's one of my favorites. The following was the best YouTube video I could find of it. I find it somewhat ironic that the song is about how it doesn't necessarily snow, and yet the video is full of snow shots. It was done by someone in Gig Harbor, WA:

The lyrics are here.

According to the official Christmas in the Northwest website, the song was written in 1985 by Brenda White, who also recorded it, as a submission to a project for Seattle's Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center. They proceeded to name the entire project "Christmas in the Northwest", and they have produced CDs every year since then, the proceeds of which benefit Children's Hospital. I think that's a very worthy cause. The CDs feature local Northwest musical artists, and all of them include Brenda White's heartwarming song.

As America gets farther and farther from its Christian roots, I find this song to be a breath of fresh air, as it celebrates Northwest culture, weather, and the true meaning of Christmas. Unlike many Christmas songs that celebrate snow falling, this one points out that the Northwest is not known for its snow, and because of all the rain that we get, "Christmas in the Northwest is a gift God wrapped in green." I also enjoy how, with the Northwest's fascination with small towns, it points out that Christmas began in a small town. It never mentions Jesus or Bethlehem by name, but it does tell that "in a small town, a child came down, the Father's gift of love and life."

I think it brilliantly captures the true spirit of Christmas. It's about celebrating the birth of the Savior, spending time with family, enjoying the weather (even if it's raining and not snowing). The recurring theme of loving and teaching children is a particularly cool part. This is undoubtedly because it was written to benefit Children's Hospital, but it isn't expressed in an advertisy (like the word I just made up?) or preachy manner.

Children have a way of dreaming that adults seem to forget. I think we have a lot to learn from the dreams of children, and I think we should never stop dreaming. We also need to learn to be content with what we have. If it's raining, we don't have to be grumpy because it isn't snowing. If it's snowing, we don't need to be grumpy because the roads are slick. We need to be willing to help and give and love...and dream!

Whether it rains or snows, it's Christmas. Whether or not anyone gets presents, we all have love to give. Christmas is about giving, not receiving. And the ultimate example of the Christmas spirit is the Child who came to earth about 2000 years ago to give us love and life. That is a greater gift than anyone could ever dream of giving.

Following is a short documentary on the song and the Children's Hospital project with the same name.