Our Christmas Bells

Last night, while trying to entertain the kids best I could while still quite taken over by whatever this horrible cold/flu might be, I parked at the piano bench and decided to plunk out a few Christmas songs. See if I could get a little sing-a-long going. I found a book that came over in a stack of piano music from JC's mom last year. We flipped through and found a few familiar favorites. The kids picked based mostly on the pictures accompanying the tunes and we ended up with some less familiar ones. It was nice. As anyone who attends Relief Society in our ward can attest to, I love finding a good unfamiliar hymn and digging into it, finding the message and learning the melody.
It would also be great if there were always pictures.
But there usually aren't.
So this was fun.
We came across a pretty page and James wanted to sing the song attached. It was an equally pretty hymn that I have loved in the past but not sung in years. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. As I attempted to muster up the voice and energy to sing through it, I was touched by the lyrics. The kids seemed to really enjoy it too. It was following Rudolph and though they had been dancing wildly around moments before, they sat and listened to the pretty song, giving me a chance to really appreciate it.
It spoke to a lot I have been pondering on lately.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet, the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll'd along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair, I bow'd my head.
"There is no peace on earth," I said.
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

I love that last, reassuring verse.

Upon research, I found that these words were written during our country's Civil War. There are even two additional verses directly addressing the time of war that I had never seen included in hymnals and songbooks.
I can certainly understand why someone experiencing those times would have found room to grieve at the condition of the world during a season meant for joy.
We live in a time of luxury, especially compared to those humble and challenging days of war within a nation. But we also live in a time that inspires much grief and turmoil in the hearts of so many. Nobody can deny the ugliness that can be found everywhere from the highest throes of world government down to individual families. Nobody can ignore the tragedy and injustice that occur in the lives of the innocent and defenseless.
But nobody can knowingly and sincerely deny the glorifying truth that is our redemption from it all. We have been provided with a Savior who rescues us from the things of this earth that try us and challenge us. As this world sinks farther and farther from the Hands that created it, all is still right. As we cringe and cry at the horrors that can exist, justice and mercy still reign on high and we have full, constant, and everlasting access to the peace that comes from that fact.
It is not being naive, being simple-minded, or even being optimistic that gives me this outlook. It is certainly not a lack of sensitivity or anxiety when it comes to being aware of the sadness that sweeps our earth. As much as some might like to say so, it is also not the fact that I lack a long life full of experiences. I stand firmly and securely in my conviction that there is not a thing I could experience that could tear me from what sits firmly embedded in my heart. It is knowing that all truth is wrapped up in the plan of our Heavenly Father who loves us enough to give us over to the experiences of this earth life so that we can expand to fill our own potential. It is knowing that part of that plan is our Savior who tends to all and carries all in His palms.
I know that not everybody knows this.
Or wants to know it.
But I know that everybody can.
We are promised that anyone who will seek for a personal confirmation of the truth of our Savior's gospel and atonement and the role that plays in this earth life, with pure intent of heart, WILL receive it. There is absolutely no exception to this. And that in itself is worth hope.
And hope is what saves us from the despair we can sometimes feel. Not just an empty hope that we kind of toss out into the universe when we want something to go our way. But a real hope. A hope in Christ. The kind of hope that promotes faith, which promotes change, which promotes joy and rejoicing.
After all, we live in the most wicked time in the history of the earth. But we also live in the most amazing, blessed time. We have so much to be grateful for and so much to hope for.
And at the center of all of it is Christ, our Savior, who we celebrate at this time of the year. We celebrate that He was willing to come to this earth...the one that holds so much sorrow and despair...and do exactly what He had promised us He would do.
And because of that, everything that is ever wrong will someday be right. Anything that is ever hard can be made easier. And anything that is ever unjust will absolutely, without fail, be made just.
Those words are my Christmas bells. My last, reassuring verse. Those words, and these faces...