What really matters...

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices! Oh night divine! Oh night when Christ was born! Oh night divine! Oh night! Oh night divine! Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother, and in his name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we; Let all within us praise his holy name. Christ is the lord, that ever, ever praise we. Noel! Noel! Oh night;oh night divine! Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine! Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine! This is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and there are several reasons why I love it so much. But this year particularly, I love the sense of hope that this song has. This has been a rough year in many ways. But tonight is about hope. The

I want to live with no regrets. I want to get to the end of my life and be content with the decisions I have made. Oh, I know that I will make mistakes. I am not perfect. But I think right now my regret is that I push people away. The truth is I am pretty self-sufficient. I visited my mom recently and when were talking, she told stories of me growing up and how I would just take care of myself. Once when I was really little we were visiting my aunt and uncle, and I had been sitting on the floor and then suddenly they noticed I was gone. I was little enough that this was something to be concerned about, so they went looking for me. And eventually found me asleep in the room that I had been told I would be staying in. That's me. I'm the person who manages by myself. But that's not who I want to be. I want to let go of that control. I want to trust someone wholly with who I am. I want to let people in, let them see the real me, not just the image I project on t