Honoring The Mother Ship's (First Baptist Church Jackson) Cherished '70s / '80s' Pastor - Dr. Frank Pollard - 12/24/78 transcript

Christmas Eve in My Hometown

 

There's so much to remember
No wonder I remember
Christmas Eve in my home town

'Cause there were carols in the square
Laughter everywhere
Couples kissing under the mistletoe

I can't help reminiscing
Knowing I'll be missing
Christmas Eve in my home town

Nothing can erase the mem'ries I embrace
Those familiar footprints upon the snow

There's so much to remember
No wonder I remember
Christmas Eve in my home town

I'd like to be there
Trimming the tree there
And there's a chance that I might

I can hear singing
Steeple bells ringing
Noel and Silent Night

Wise men journeyed far, guided by a star
But though I'm not a wise man, this I know

Through dreams and just pretending
I'm there and I'll be spen-ding
Christmas Eve in my home town

 

As I sit in the semi darkness my living room, surrounded by the warm glow of the lights emitting from the Christmas tree, my world is all at peace. Truly, it is my most favorite night of the entire year. It is Christmas Eve, that magically enchanting time when the world lies in stillness on the eve of our dear Savior's birth. With my kid safely tucked in bed dreaming sweet dreams of what Christmas day will bring, I once again savor the moment that I possess to steal a few hours of quiet solitude. With the fire going in the fireplace and my faithful little dog curled up in my lap, my soul is at peace, at least for this moment. Although many claim Christmas Day as their favorite time of the year, for me, Christmas Eve has always been that special moment that I look forward to all year, and savor when it finally arrives. As a child, I never really paid much attention to Christmas Eve. But as an adult, I eagerly look forward to the time when the nightfall approaches on that special evening each year. With the television playing in the background, I briefly close my eyes and store this precious moment safely within the depths of my memories, held there to look back on for years to come.

When I was growing up, I had a great childhood but there was not a lot of stability in my life when it came to putting down roots and staying in one place for an extended period. Due to the nature of my dad's job, we frequently moved around quite often and never seemed to stay in one location more than a few years.

When I was a kid, my parents owned a few LP records (left over relics from their teenage years in the 1970s) that I found myself fascinated with. One set of records that they owned was a six volume Christmas collection produced by Reader's Digest records in the 1970s. I have always loved Christmas music, and to this day, I still find myself playing Christmas music in in my office at work all day long beginning on the first of November. As a kid, I dearly loved that record set because it contained all the Christmas staples such as Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" and being Crosby's "White Christmas." Now, you must realize that this was in the time before Sirius XM, Amazon Music or Spotify. No, if I wanted to listen to Christmas music, this set of records presented my only opportunity to do so throughout the Christmas season. Sure, there might have been a radio station or two that played Christmas songs, but if I wanted Christmas music on demand, this was it.

As a kid, I remembered one song that caught my attention and I found myself listening to it over and over through the years. The song was Kate Smith's "Christmas Eve in My Hometown." I remember being fascinated by Ms. Smith's hauntingly beautiful contralto voice. I grew up in a day and age where there was no Wikipedia or even the Internet as we now know it. If you wanted to find out something, your only option pretty much was to go to the local library and look it up in the World Book Encyclopedia. As a result, I grew up never knowing who this woman with the magical voice was. I just knew that every Christmas I looked forward to hearing her sing of a place that I longed for in my heart but knew would never exist for me.

This October marked the 15th year of my wife and I living in what I now consider to be our "hometown" of sorts. Neither my wife or I had a stable childhood, and we seem to both have developed a sort of "PTSD" when it comes to moving as an adult. Perhaps that is why we have never left our town after 15 years (our entire married life)? We have been in our same house for 12 of our 15 years of marriage even though many of our friends have bought and sold, and are now in their second or third house. We have had the same dog for 14 years. I have had the same old Ford truck for 12 years. Are you seeing a pattern here? Stability. Hanging on. Putting down roots. Finding a hometown.

But a strange thing happened a few years ago. I began to realize that people and places change, and nothing stays the same. To think that everything would stay the same forever goes against the very law of nature. When I was growing up, my late grandparents lived down in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. My grandmother's house, built in 1890, was the one constant in my life. I spent every holiday there as well as much time each summer. In fact, my aunt still lives in the house to this day, so it remains in the family. When I was growing up, some of my happiest memories were centered around that house and that town. Even though I never physically lived in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, it was such a constant in my life that it became sort of a pseudo-hometown of sorts for me. In fact, my wife and I were even married in that town in my late grandmother's home church. After my grandmother passed away in 2010 and my late grandfather moved in with his sister at her house in Terry, Mississippi (where he lived until his passing in 2015), I never went back to my late grandmother's house much, if at all. It was just not the same and it was too difficult for me. Many years passed and I did not go back down to Crystal Springs Mississippi at all. The one or two times I did go back down there to visit, nothing seemed as I remembered it. People had died, and places were gone.

Life is a strange thing. After my mother finally retired a few years back, she and my dad found a house that they wanted to buy down in Crystal Springs and decided to move back to my mother's hometown. Ironically, it is right around the corner from my late grandmother's house. Life had come full circle and I now had more of a reason to visit the town that had meant so much to me growing up.

Like life, memory is also a strange thing. When you go back and attempt to revisit places and scenes from your past, you find that they simply do not exist anymore. Indeed, the only place that they exist anymore is within the dim, cobwebby recesses of your imagination. Although we are making new memories down in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, it will never be the same as it was in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

As I sit back in my chair, I turn my attention back to “A Christmas Carol” playing on the television. Sadie adjusts herself as she nudges closer and sighs before drifting off to a doggie dream. My wife is sitting close by, drinking hot cocoa. And my son is fast asleep in his bed, dreaming happy thoughts of what tomorrow will bring.

The Christmas Eve of now looks different the Christmas Eve of my past. And in the future, I’m sure that it will look different than it does now. But no matter, what, Christmas Eve will always be my favorite night of the year. It’s that magical time where the past, present, and future all collide together. It’s the eve of my savior’s birth, and a time where I am blessed and happy to be alive.

You can never physically go back to a moment in time. Even if you were blessed to have had a stable, steady hometown while growing up, it will not be the same when you’re 42 as it was when you were 12. But Christmas Eve in my Hometown still exists. It exists in all the happy moments in time, which gather and come rushing forth in unison to greet me on that most special night of the year. Christmas Eve in my hometown is NOW. It is going to the candlelight service at church with my family. It is coming home to eat taco soup as we watch a Christmas movie before putting my son to bed. It is staying up with my wife to watch television in the dark on Christmas Eve.

One day, these joyful moments of the present will also be gone. And I’ll long for them with as much fervor as I do for the years spent at my grandmother’s. But they’ll be safe. They’ll be a part of the memories stored in those dim, cobwebby recesses of my memory. And I’ll sit back and smile once more. Christmas Eve in my Hometown exists. It exists my in my heart. As Ms. Smith sings:

 

“Through dreams and just pretending

I'm there and I'll be spending

Christmas Eve in my home town”

Unexpected Blessing (In Spite Of The Soreness)

Earlier this week, I spent a few hours circuiting through a CrossFit workout in my Silas' garage (alongside the Man).  Now, this wasn't the first time I'd exercised within a CrossFit box, but it was a first for me to relegate myself to a WOD (Workout of the Day).  

My time there working out with him was uneventful or so it seemed.  

This morning, my wife and oldest daughter went to the YMCA to workout.  I've been using this Reservoir Y facility for countless years, and as a rule, I treat the experience (as I did this AM) like it's my first visit every time.  What I mean by that is I do not socialize with my fellow patrons.  80% of them know me, but they don't know my name (nor do I know theirs).  There are exceptions to this, of course.  For there are some individuals who simply cozy up to me over time.  As such, I try not to be overtly rude, but rarely do I spend more than one or two minutes of my time there chatting.  Considering that, if I feel so moved, I do steal away to my parked car long enough to grab a business card from my wallet to covertly gift.

Ever since this past summer, there's been a middle school student in this particular Y facility who's been rigorous (& faithful) about / to his workout routine.  I've complimented him a handful of times whilst shaking hands.  Today, he again was on the floor, and as we usually do, he and I spoke briefly whilst within earshot of each other.  There continues to be a mutual admiration / platonic attraction there.

I sense that this young man lives within a fatherless household.  I've no way to confirm that, but more often than not, when a young man is first entering into a workout space (with intentions of making physical gains), his dad is there with him (at least for a season).  I've seen this over and over.  That's never occurred with this teen (based on my observation).  He's always been by himself, with his mom serving as his ride to and from.  

Throughout my time there today, I couldn't help but notice the brotherly energy passing between myself and this young man.  Positive, affirming, respectful energy.  Afterwards, I realized this too had occurred in spades between my Silas and I earlier this week as he and I relegated ourselves to the aforementioned WOD.

-------------------------

My Silas is a CrossFit trainer, therefore he's consistently cognizant of his trainee's form / execution.  I was that trainee earlier this week, but at the same time, I was his ally / partner / brother.

I believe he underestimated just how fit I truly am.  And that's to be expected.  We'd never worked out together, and my exercise routine has never benefited from any semblance of CrossFit.  Yet, I'm quite fit for a 50-year-old Mississippi redneck and as such, not at all intimidated by the prospect of learning from the best (CrossFit zealot or otherwise).

Positive energy passing between men.  Isn't that the concept Samson Society is built upon?  For me though, I've truly found a means to turbocharge that experience between me myself and an old friend whom I deeply respect.

I can't wait for round two (scheduled for early January).

Merry Christmas, dear reader.  I hope your 2023 outlook is as anticipatory as mine.

Lagniappe

Recommended Reading

The Christmas We Needed | Desiring God

Recommended Reading

We Long to Be Ruled: The Messianic Hopes in Every Heart | Desiring God

"The No Bull Briefing" - December 2022

 

THE NO BULL BRIEFING - December 2022

Don't Forget Samson This Christmas  Our annual matching gift fundraiser is under way and we are currently 51% of the way to our goal with just over one week left in the year!  For every new gift donated to Samson House from October 1 through December 31 of this year, an anonymous donor will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $50,000. Double your impact and double the reward of partnering with us as we work to rescue families by helping men live in the freedom of authenticity Please note: the matching gift does not include recurring gifts.  DONATE Meeting Host Virtual Training Do you host or sub a Samson Society meeting? If so, you are invited to join us for a special virtual training session on Saturday, February 4. Whether you facilitate an in-person or virtual meeting, this FREE training with TrueFace President & CEO Robby Angle will dive into what it means to have the heart of a leader and how you, as the meeting host, can confidently take the community of men who attend the meeting to a deeper, more fulfilling level.  REGISTER The Magic of Darkness By ES Yesterday was the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year. Another way to look at it is that yesterday was the darkest day of the year, the "seasonal dark night of the soul." The day where there is more darkness than light. Maybe you feel like you are in a season of darkness. A season where the light is barely perceptible, barely cresting the horizon. Or perhaps it feels like the light has completely gone out. Maybe you feel like a citizen of Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost permanent settlement. Halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the 2,400 residents here are used to extremes. When the sun sets in early October of each year, the town will remain in complete darkness until early March. You might wonder why the heck would someone want to live in darkness for half of the year? Why would people choose to live in such a remote, cold, and dangerous place? Despite the darkness and contrary to what many people assume, the citizens of Longyearbyen claim that the dark winter days foster community and connection. There are special festivals, including a Dark Season Blues Festival, and even a torchlit Christmas parade. This Is the magic of darkness: It is in our darkest times that we need people the most. We need community to feel connected and survive the dark winter nights. We can easily remain isolated, but isolation often leads to death.  Longyearbyen is also the home of the Global Seed Vault. Situated in a former coal mine, the seed vault holds copies of all the world's seeds to ensure against loss in the event of a global crisis.  The place of darkness is also the place that holds life.  Lack of light doesn’t mean a lack of the Lord’s presence; there’s actually a good chance He’s waiting for us in the shadows. What if I told you that God, who is light, also dwells in deep darkness and has an air of mystery and unpredictability about Him that should excite us and encourage us to want to know Him in a deeper way? Yes, scripture says that God is light and that the darkness cannot overcome Him. But that doesn't mean He can't exist in the darkness. In fact, it is during those darkest nights that He often draws you closer than ever. God meets you in the dark and deep places—where light seems non-existent—revealing parts of His character that you may not otherwise come to know. Remember Genesis 1:1-2? "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." (NLT) Light wasn’t creation’s canvas—darkness was. God called Moses to draw near to the thick darkness where He was (Exodus 20:21) and it was in that "dark cloud" that God revealed His glory to him. How many of us have wondered, “Why? Why won’t God take this from me?” We want rescue. But maybe what God wants is to meet us in this place. Maybe He wants to reveal Himself to us in it—not take us out of it. Because, in doing so, He is inviting you to deeper surrender to Him, especially the deepest, darkest crevasses of your heart.  And how do you surrender those places you have stuffed down so deeply? By bringing them into the light through processing them with wise counsel and safe communities because nothing can stay in darkness permanently - even Longyearbyen experiences the "midnight sun" for half of the year. Ultimately, He desires to share with you the hoards of secret places, showing off His power and pursuit of you, drawing you in and enjoying your company as you sit together. Who knew the dark could be such a gift?  November 2022 Meeting Host & Sub Winner Thank you James Lowe for hosting the Jumpstart virtual meeting! We would like to give you a 25% discount off one item in the Samson merch store as a thank you for donating your time and talents! Please check your email inbox for your discount code. Each month we will draw one name, so be sure to complete the host form online every time you host or sub a meeting to be entered in to the drawing. You receive one entry for each time you host or sub during the month. Regional Retreat Opportunities Planning a regional Samson retreat? Let us know at samsonhouseoffice@gmail.com or drop it on the #upcoming_event channel on Slack so we can help you spread the word! Men's & Couples Intensives in Mississippi These workshops are formatted as short-term intensive settings that maximize your investment of time and money. The two or three day workshops provide the equivalent of 8 to 12 months of weekly counseling and are a huge jumpstart or boost for your recovery journey. All therapists are LPC master’s level and CSAT’s. SAMSON MEN'S INTENSIVE DATE: JANUARY 27 - 30 COUPLES INTENSIVE DATE: JANUARY 13, 14 LEARN MORE Monthly Resource Corner Each month, Samson Society will promote a resource that you may find helpful on your journey. Feel free to share any podcast episodes, blog posts, books, or documentaries that you find enlightening!  Why are the holidays so hard during recovery? Join Pirate Monk Chris Inman, founder of P*rn Free Masculinity, as he discusses this topic in this 20 minute YouTube video. Connect with us on social media!

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