“Come,” they told me, “a newborn King to see.”
The journey was long, but we were strong.
“Our finest gifts we bring… to lay before the King.”
Blankets and wool against the cool.
“So to honor him… when we come.”
Kneel down, creaking sounds; bow low, down we go.
My father and the other shepherds knelt beside the manger in awe, but I stood back. I had come to see a king, and here was a child wrapped in dirty rags and laid in a feeding trough. I had come to see a palace, and here was a drafty stable shed. I had come to honor him, but he didn’t even look at me. The baby’s eyes were closed and he slept silently.
But then I remembered what the angels said, and a thrill of fear pierced me again at the thought of their thundering voices and blindingly bright faces, faces that had seen God Himself and yet deigned to appear to us, the lowest of the low. Shepherds. They had said, “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger,” and at the thought, they had been filled with such ecstasy that they poured out the most beautiful and terrible song I had ever heard, with a thundering, pulsing beat that made my heart ache in reply. And they were right. There you were, sleeping among the stiff rags and coarse hay.
Remembering this, I knelt – out of obedience at first. But when you opened your eyes and looked straight into mine, I knew that you were no ordinary King: you were our Messiah, our Savior, the long awaited perfect Lamb, better than any unblemished sheep we raised for the temple. For in your new-opened eyes I saw the wisdom of eternity, and a love more beautiful and terrible than the song of the angels. Love for me, a lowly shepherd boy, a little drummer.
I longed to give you a gift then, a gift worthy of such a King. But I had nothing.
Little Baby,
I am a poor boy too.
I have no gift to bring
That’s fit to give the King.
I looked down at my feet in shame and there was my drum. The only thing I possessed. It would not do much good to give it to you, but maybe… I raised my eyes humbly to your mother who was watching you with worship on her calm and tired face. I asked her if I could play for you. My father held out a hand to stop me, but your mother smiled and nodded.
The night was silent then. Silent but for the rhythms in my memory, the precious stones I had collected on our journey until I had a chance to drop them one by one onto my drum. Now I let them go.
Tha-THUM. Pa-RUM. Tha-THUM. Pa-RUM. The piece started slowly and softly, to the deep beat of my own heart. Rip, strip; rip, strip. I added the comfortable beat of sheep chewing up grass.
The song was gaining strength, but it was still hungry. I fed it more rhythms, dropped more stones: The heartbeat quickened and pounded as the angels appeared, then the tempo scattered and broke into the complicated, powerful roll of the angels’ hymn that had nearly ripped my heart out when I listened. Finally the heartbeat slowed again, accompanied by the slap of our footsteps traveling to meet you. And then everything sped up and crashed together at the moment when you looked at me and I saw a Redeemer in your eyes.
I thought I was finished, but the rhythm took hold of me and I played a song I did not know, a song I had never learned. The staccato tempo of the donkey’s feet carrying your mother here. The cries of pain as she brought joy into the world. The first breath of a new life and yet a life that had always been. The sound of a thousand thousand hearts beating in unison, aching with longing for a King, a Savior to heal up the cracks where sin seeps through. And the shivering bleat of a perfect, unblemished little lamb who held deep power inside.
The song swelled and grew as I added each new rhythm, flying upwards and outwards until it blended with the billowing, whirling wind outside. The pulses crept under my closed eyelids and traveled with a delicious tingle down my cheeks and into my mouth, where they piled so high that the corners of my lips stretched up to hold them all. Still they kept seeping in until at last they overflowed and burst out my mouth in a jumble.
The laugh bounced off the drum with the rest of the precious stones, then followed them over the side, single file, until the only stone left was the soft, deep thump of my heartbeat. At last, it too danced off the drum and the world was silent once again. I sighed, satisfied, my gift completed.
I opened my eyes and looked at you. And you smiled at me.
**************
Well, that was fun! Maybe not the best thing I’ve written, but something I’ve been wanting to write for a while. I know, I just posted a Christmas story… sorry ’bout that. (I promise I will cut down on the writing and Christmas-themed posts and get back to normal after December. XD)
But I just love the Little Drummer Boy song. It’s such a sweet and powerful reminder that we, too, have nothing fit to give our King – and yet he laid down his life for us. Though we crown him with thorns, yet he smiles at us. The least we can do is play our life song to him in gratitude. ♥
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the little story and Christmasy pictures. 🙂 And MERRY CHRISTMAS, GUYS! I hope you have an absolutely stupendous one. ♥
***Allison***
Wonderfully written…. It paints quite a picture…..
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Aww, thank you!
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You are welcome!
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❤ Gorgeous!
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Thank youuuu! ♥
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This is one of my all time great Christmas songs. I love the rhythm and the words are wonderful!
Dwight
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I love it too. 🙂
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I loved the photos!! Great little story!! Have a blessed Christmas!! ❤
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Aww, thanks so much, Gracie! You too! 😀
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Anytime!! Thanks!! ❤
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That story is amazing!!!
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Aww, thank you SO much! 😀
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You’re welcome!
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That’s such a lovely story! Also, those pictures are really cute. 🙂
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Thank you so much, Enni! ♥
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Absolutely!
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I actually don’t like this song, haha, but your story is darling! Merry Christmas, my dear friend! 😀
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Ha ha! XD I didn’t used to like it, actually, until this year I think. But thank you! And MERRY CHRISTMAS to you too, dear! ♥ I hope you have a great one!
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Merry Christmas Allison! Hope you have a great holiday! ❤ Faith Elizabeth
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Thank you so much, Faith! You too! 😀
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Merry Christmas to ya! Beautiful pictures! ❤❤
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Thanks so much, and same to you! ♥
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Your story is amazing! The Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I love how Pentatonix sings it!
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Thank you SO much, Maddy! Oh yes, I love Pentatonix’s version too. 🙂
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Oh, Allison! How I envy your writing abilities…
That was wonderfully written! God has given you a truly amazing gift!
Merry Christmas!!
-Bekah❤️
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Aww, thank you SO much, dear! That really means a lot. ♥ Merry Christmas to you too, Bekah!
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You are so welcome! Awe, yay!
-Bekah❤️
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Great story and pictures!! Merry Christmas!!
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Thanks and thanks! 😀 Merry Christmas to you too!
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I liked the story! Merry Christmas! 🙂
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Thanks, Nicole! Merry Christmas to you too! 😀
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I LOVE your story, the photos and eek! 😮 Thank you for sharing such an important Meaning in your story! Merry Christmas, my friend! 😀
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Aww, thank you so much, dear! MERRY CHRISTMAS to you too! 😀
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Reblogged this on mgshepard.
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Thank you!
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I loved this post so much, Allison! The pictures are beautiful and your story was amazing. MERRY CHRISTMAS! ❤ 😀
-Clara ❤
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Aww, thank you sooo much! MERRY CHRISTMAS! ♥
P. S. WE OPENED YOUR PRESENTS! AND WE LOVED THEM! ♥ Thank you soooo much for the beautiful journal. 🙂
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MERRY CHRISTMAS, my friend!! ❤ YAY you're so welcome! Thank YOU for the incredible drawing – you are so amazingly talented!!
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YOU TOOO! (Oh wait, I already said that… XD) Aww, than you sooo much! I’m really happy you liked it! 😀
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Merry Christmas, Allison. Hope you’ve had a wonderful time.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS, GRACIE! I HAVE had a wonderful time so far. ♥ How ’bout you?
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Thanks! Yay! Yes, me too!
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Ah, yes! I just pre-posted a post with this song! (Stay tuned!) One of my favorite songs. One we can sing all year long! It is my prayer that I will always bring my all for Christ. Even though nothing I have will ever be enough.
Merry Christmas!
❤ Mandie
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Ooh, that sounds great! I know, I love it. ♥ Yes I agree!
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Beautiful pictures and story!! Merry Christmas!!
~Gracie
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Thanks so much! Merry Christmas to you too, Gracie! 😀
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Pretty photos, Allison! I really like the nativity one. I hope you had a very merry Christmas! ❤
~Sassafras
P.S. Did you receive my card? 🙂
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Thank you so much, Sassafras! Me too. 🙂 I sure did!
P. S. I DID! Thank you sooo much – that was so kind of you! ♥ I loved it. 🙂
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You’re welcome! Yay! I’m so glad you received it. I love to send Christmas cards to friends, so I of course I wanted to send one to you. 🙂
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Aww, well that was quite kind of you. 😉 Did you have a good Christmas?
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Yes, I did have a great Christmas! Although it seemed like the day passed way too quickly.
On another subject, it has been so cold here for the past week! Has it been the same for you?
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I’m so glad! Ha ha, I know what you mean. That always seems to happen…
Oh my goodness, YES. It has been so extremely frigid here. It was a windchill of -6 the other day, I believe. O.o
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Oh, wow, that’s cold! It’s not that cold here, but the cold doesn’t seem to be going away, either. We got a couple of inches of snow yesterday, though, and I’m hoping it won’t melt for a little while. 😉
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It IS. Brrr. Hee hee! Ooh, snow? Yay! We got just a dusting, but most of it has melted. 😉 The pond is frozen, though! Hopefully it’s frozen enough to skate on – that would be so fun!
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Yes, we have snow, and it hasn’t melted yet! Usually when we get snow it melts in a couple days, but it’s really cold here, so I don’t think it will for a little while.
Oh, do you skate a lot in the winter? I’ve always thought skating was cool, but all we have here is a large puddle that is fun to slide on when it freezes. XP
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Yayyyy! That’s great!
Our pond only freezes maybe every 3 or 4 years? So we don’t buy skates because we’ll just grow out of them by the next time. 😉 But when we can, we like to slide around on them in boots, yeah. Ha ha, a large puddle… XD Our pond isn’t very big either, but I’d say it’s a bit bigger than a puddle. 😉
Nope, sadly.
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Aww, that’s too bad. But sliding around with snow boots is fun too, when it freezes.
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Yeah.
But you’re right, it is!
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Pentatonix is LIFE! Love this post!! ♡
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Ha ha! Yes, I love Pentatonix. 🙂 And thanks so much!
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That was great, you are very good.
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Thank you!
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Allison, you’re photography skills are outstanding! Hope you had a Merry Christmas!
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Aww, thanks so much, dear! And I sure did! ♥ How ’bout you?
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Of course! That’s great, I did too!
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Yay! 😀
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Hey there ❤️ I love the stuff you post. Also, I started a blog which features and promotes writers from all over the globe hoping that people could connect through it . I would love to feature your work there. Credits will be given of course. Would love to hear your response. Thanks. Sending you love ❤️
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Aww, that’s so good to hear! Thank you so much. 🙂 Sure, I’d love if you featured me! Thanks for asking. 🙂
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Is there any particular piece you want to feature? 🙂 or can i take anything ?
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Oh no, I’m so sorry I haven’t replied to this until now! It got buried in the other comments to moderate.
Anyway, oh, you can use whatever post you want! If you don’t know which one to feature, though, here are a few of my favorites…
https://afarmgirlslife.wordpress.com/2017/08/09/thoughts-on-beauty/
https://afarmgirlslife.wordpress.com/2017/10/03/bunnies-in-autumn/
https://afarmgirlslife.wordpress.com/2017/10/25/golden-hour-sisters-photoshoot/
https://afarmgirlslife.wordpress.com/2017/11/24/more-poems/
https://afarmgirlslife.wordpress.com/2017/09/03/drawings-and-such-why-its-okay-to-make-bad-art/
Thanks again so much for featuring me, and sorry I didn’t get back sooner. ♥
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Your cookies look so cute! It’s really great that you’re keeping Christmas centred on Christ and not on the decor and shopping, which is pretty hard to do! 😀
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Thanks so much! Yeah, I agree, it IS tricky.
But thanks so much!
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This post was honestly so cute, I loved the photography, such a lovely post! xx maddisonjayne.blog/
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Aww, thanks so much!
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This is probably the best story version for the song. Bravo
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Why thanks! Glad you like it! 🙂
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Wow. an amazing narrative of a musical piece! Loved it. Christmas is a time when everything feels different and out of the world. Hope you had a merry one 🙂
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Aww, thank you! I certainly did! 😊
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😊😊👍🏻
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