What Can I Give Him?

“What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a Shepherd, I would give a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. What can I give him? Give him my heart.” – In the Bleak Mid Winter UMH #221

Verse four of this Christmas hymn came to mind this morning as I tried to imagine what to write. Certainly, it is not midwinter, in fact it is springtime. It is the winter of COVID-19 in which I'm finding myself asking, “What can I give him?“

The last two months have had a cumulative effect on me, as I imagine it has you too. As each week passes, it gets harder to think of new things to do for the church and my family. I ask God to show me the way and God seems silent. "If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb." I continue to learn and plan for what comes next, "if I were a wise man, I would do my part." The star of Bethlehem is so bright and large that it seems tantalizingly near, but there is still a long way to go. So, I press on, attending to what I can do and readying myself for what's next.

As we grow inpatient to return to some form of what seemed normal last year, we are also understandably frightened about the unknowns. We look to God to rescue us, but are we ready for God's plan to be something completely unimaginable? Like a helpless baby in a manger? Are we willing to accept God's answer to our prayers when the answer doesn't seem to make sense?

What can I give him, poor as I am?

Give him my heart.