If Only in My Dreams
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” was written by the Lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and was first recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby. The song is sung from the point of view of a soldier stationed overseas during World War II, writing a letter to his family. – Wikipedia
Long before I started writing this devotional, that song kept creeping into my thoughts. It’s one of my favorites although it is quite short and somewhat melancholy. The words are simple, to the point, and heart wrenching.
In 2020 we have a different foe. Covid 19 has turned our world upside down. We now wear masks as part of our attire, and some of us have stayed away from family get-togethers and celebrations. By now, most of us know someone who has contracted this terrible disease, and some have even lost friends and family members. You can see why the line “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams,” might be appropriate for a time when patients who go into the hospital may not come back out right away!
Why would I write about something so sad during this joyous holiday? I guess I just want us to remember that some of us are not joyous. Some of us don’t have enough to eat. Some of us haven’t had a decent paycheck since March. Some of us have lost everything. And too many will only be home for Christmas in our dreams.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your blessings. Please be with your children who feel so alone and forgotten during this holiday season. I especially ask you to be those who are suffering from illnesses that do not allow a human touch. Let them feel your loving arms around them. And be with those earthly angels we call doctors, nurses, and first responders. They definitely need a heavenly hug. In Your name we pray.
Amen
Becky Warren
Long before I started writing this devotional, that song kept creeping into my thoughts. It’s one of my favorites although it is quite short and somewhat melancholy. The words are simple, to the point, and heart wrenching.
I’ll be home for Christmas.Like many of you, I grew up in the church and learned so many beautiful Christmas hymns from an early age, but my love of more secular Christmas songs came from listening to the Firestone Christmas Albums of the 1960s. As we trimmed the tree, we sipped hot chocolate and sang along to Bing, Perry Como, and Julie Andrews. That’s probably when I first heard the song and my parents’ explanation about its significance to those who lived through WWII. I think it made my parents sad because it reminded them of those they had lost in the war, but they also remembered the hope it had given them that loved ones would soon be home.
You can plan on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree.
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the lovelight gleams.
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.
In 2020 we have a different foe. Covid 19 has turned our world upside down. We now wear masks as part of our attire, and some of us have stayed away from family get-togethers and celebrations. By now, most of us know someone who has contracted this terrible disease, and some have even lost friends and family members. You can see why the line “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams,” might be appropriate for a time when patients who go into the hospital may not come back out right away!
Why would I write about something so sad during this joyous holiday? I guess I just want us to remember that some of us are not joyous. Some of us don’t have enough to eat. Some of us haven’t had a decent paycheck since March. Some of us have lost everything. And too many will only be home for Christmas in our dreams.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your blessings. Please be with your children who feel so alone and forgotten during this holiday season. I especially ask you to be those who are suffering from illnesses that do not allow a human touch. Let them feel your loving arms around them. And be with those earthly angels we call doctors, nurses, and first responders. They definitely need a heavenly hug. In Your name we pray.
Amen
Becky Warren
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