I’m in Walmart looking for something that I know is here, but I don’t see it. I’ve gone down the same 2 aisles twice. I bought it here last time; I know they carry it, and I really need it. Frustration builds: the gray day, the sloshy snow tracked in the store, the noise of fussy kids and grouchy parents, the piped-in Christmas music designed to make me spend more — it’s all getting to me.
Especially the music. “Silent Night” starts with some little kid. The sweet and innocent voice grates on my nerves. Really, it should be illegal to use certain songs commercially. Second verse of “Silent Night” starts, and there’s another voice adding harmony. Really, this song should be protected from exploitation. I’m in Scrooge mode by now, moments away from giving up any thoughts of peace on earth, still trying to find that item when without thinking, I start humming with the song. Third verse. Third verse has sweet voice, harmony, and a full adult chorus. And something makes me stop.
I close my eyes and hum the harmony. I remember Newtown Elementary, and how this is the anniversary of the day someone shattered their lives, and then a choir from that school bravely sang “Silent Night” on national TV a week later. I remember many Christmas Eves at church with candlelight and prayer. I imagine it a hundred years ago. I imagine the first night it was ever sung. For just a moment, it is all part of me. It is a moment of blessing.
The song is interrupted with an announcement, and suddenly I’m back in the aisle at Walmart. I give up and start to walk away when I run into a former student, now an employee here, who stops when I say hello and takes a minute to ask sincerely how I am. I wish him “Merry Christmas,” and he smiles a genuine smile. I am blessed again.
I smile and head back down that aisle, checking one last time. And there it is.
In the big things and in the trivial things, God is present.
(Note: I wrote this a couple of years ago. I still get rankled when I hear “Silent Night” over department store loudspeakers, though.)