Less than two weeks prior to Christmas, Brenda Garza had to say good-bye to her father, Jack, as he succumbed to persistent heart problems. Not a run-of-the-mill father/daughter relationship, they had shared a special bond as Brenda cared for Jack in her home during the last years of his life. She had been a nurse’s aide of sorts, assisting him through numerous health ordeals, and he had been a Rock of Gibraltar for her through various ups and downs in her life. Now he was gone, and she faced the emptiness of Christmas without him.

On the day of the funeral, the minister brought a perspective to the funeral that caused Brenda to look at her father’s holiday absence in an entirely different light. He read a poem that he wrote and here’s what it said:

My First Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below

With tiny lights, like Heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular! Please wipe away that tear,

For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear many songs that people hold so dear,

But the sound of music can’t compare to the Christmas choir here.

I have no words to tell you the joy the voices bring,

For it is beyond description to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart.

Even though I’m so far away we really aren’t apart.

So be happy for me, loved ones. You know I hold you dear.

Be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

Please love and keep each other as my Father said to do,

For I can’t count the blessing nor love He has For you.

So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear!

Remember, I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

As I read this wonderful poem, it reminded me that Christmas in Heaven is nothing like the holiday we have made it here on earth. Gone are the frivolous parties and presents, and absent is the anxiety and stress. The focus is solely on the One who was commissioned by God to redeem the world from its sin induced agony. As it should be, he is held in reverential awe for his willingness to do the unthinkable, to shed himself of the comforts of heaven, cloaking himself in human vulnerability so he could take on death once for all.

In some of my many flights of fantasy, I have wondered what the Christmas worship service in Heaven is like, and I float between two possibilities. The first image that my mind conjures is a picture of an enormous angelic choir singing something akin to Handel’s Messiah, perhaps the fi nest piece of music ever written. Their voices surpass the great Pavarotti or Beverly Sills as they produce arias of the finest order. With eyes closed, I hear them sing the words of the prophet Isaiah set to music: “Unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” I have heard the Messiah presented many times by earth’s finest choirs, yet I am certain that the angelic choir will elevate the majesty of the music to a level never experienced in the human realm.

In my second image of Christmas worship in Heaven, I picture the lead angel standing gently over the Lamb, softly singing the familiar words to “Silent Night.” The words, “all is calm, all is bright,” serve as a reminder that Jesus indeed is the embodiment of serenity and inner contentment. In this picture, all the creatures of Heaven are perfectly still as they absorb the enduring message of real peace. I presume that the Father smiles with pleasure as He witnesses Jesus held up as the standard bearer for all things pure and good.

Of course, I won’t know what Christmas worship in Heaven is like until I get to be one of the participants after I am called home. I enjoy, though, stretching my imagination to contemplate the potential songs offered by the angels to the Christ. In the meantime, I draw great pleasure, to the point of envy, knowing that someone like Jack Garza gets to spend his fi rst days in Heaven celebrating Christmas the way it was intended to be. It will take an eternity for him to recover from the ecstasy.

(Dr. Les Carter is a nationally renowned psychotherapist, author and lecturer. He and his wife live in suburban Dallas, TX. For more information please visit www.drlescarter.com.)