From The Eyes of Child-Like Wonder

COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

In 2022, as the world was just starting to recover from the pandemic, Matthew West wrote a song he titled Come Home for Christmas, to lift spirits at his favorite time of year.  “I sat down and wrote a Christmas song one evening at my Story House studio, which brought back memories of my favorite Christmas songs on the radio and those snowy drives to my grandmother’s house in Iowa each year,” he recalls.  In addition, he held an event in his hometown of Franklin, TN, inviting fans of his music to come for a weekend of celebrating Christmas as he loves to do -- with a tree lighting in the town square, a worship service, and, of course, lots of music.  “’Come Home for Christmas’ was born as a song and a yearly event to invite people to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.”  The third annual gathering will take place this year. 

Matthew has now expressed his thoughts about what Christmas means in a new book.  He hopes that it turns readers’ focus from the busyness of the holiday to the gift that Jesus is to us.  “Maybe you have made some decisions in your life that have separated you from a close relationship with God.  I’m confident He wants to bring Christmas to your heart this season with boundless healing and redemption.  Don’t let the holiday season come and go without the story of Jesus’ birth transforming your life.”

COME HOME TO HEALING

Matthew is keenly aware that the Christmas season isn’t a joyful time for many people.  “The Christmas season brings a flood of nostalgia and emotion and has a way of churning up stuff that has been hidden in the attics of our lives for the past year – just like those broken ornaments and lights.  The celebrations and festivities of Christmas exist alongside the reality of brokenness.  With the countdown toward Christmas set in motion, things like depression, chronic illness, job loss, or strained relationships become more evident.  While there are wonderful things about Christmas, the great reality is that broken hearts, broken bodies, broken humanity, and broken creation are the true ‘reason for the season."

The solution, he points out, is not to put on a false holiday smile and pretend that everything’s fine.  He directs us to the only One who can heal all wounds.  “It is a time to be honest with God about the brokenness in a family, a time to face up to addiction, a time to address the need for healing in our relationships, in our communities, and in our world.  Christmas is when we turn our attention to the truth that the Son of Man didn’t come to earth for us to choose to hide in our brokenness but to acknowledge it and place it in the hands of the Healer.”

COME HOME TO COMPASSION

Exercising the compassion of Christ draws us closer to Him, and is a great way to make the holiday season more meaningful, Matthew believes.  “The New Testament understanding of the word compassion is best described as a gut-level intense emotion that moves people to relieve the suffering of others – to act.  Maybe the very people who need you most this Christmas are the ones to whom you can say, ‘I’ve been there, too.’

I can tell you about my friend, Sean, who lost his wife and now leads a grief recovery group for those who have lost their spouses.  Or Jason, who is a recovered drug addict and now volunteers as a counselor at a faith-based rehab center.  Joe is a veteran who came home from war with PTSD and now helps other vets deal with the lasting effects of their time in combat.  And there is Jan, who nearly lost her marriage and now counsels young couples on how to maintain a strong relationship.” 

Matthew also offers the example of two favorite Christmas movie characters, who display hearts of compassion:  George Bailey, of the perennial favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Ebenezer Scrooge, of the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol.  “George Bailey finds out that it is his compassion as a businessman that makes him essential to so many families in the small town of Bedford Falls,” he explains.  As to ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge, the miserly man transformed into a compassionate, warm-hearted person, Matthew discovered an interesting fact about the character’s creator, Charles Dickens.  “When Dickens was only twelve years old, he was forced to work ten-hour days in a rat-infested shoe polish factory because his father, mother, five brothers, and sisters (aged two to eleven) were put in prison over a family debt.  It was compassion formed in real-life experiences that led to this famous Christmas story, and I can’t help but wonder if that is why it had such a big impact on people.”      

COME HOME TO THE MANGER

Matthew sums up his hope for his book: “You know, underneath all the decorations, fancy presents, laughter, and stress of these holiday gatherings, there is the truth of that scene around the manger.  The longing of your heart for hope this Christmas is pointing you back to the most important moment in the history of the world.  And that beautiful gift born in Bethlehem is alive today and calling you to come home for Christmas … to come home to Him … to come home for good.”

 If you want more info about Matthew West and his works, click the LINK! 

CREDITS

Author, Come Home for Christmas , W Publishing Group, 2024 / Latest single, “Unashamed,”  October, 2024 / Thirteen studio albums; latest, Don’t Stop Praying, fall, 2024 / Five-time Grammy nominee / 30 No. 1 songs / Six-time ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter of the Year / Prime Time EMMY nominee, Original Music and Lyrics for feature film The Heart of Christmas / Author of eight books / Songwriting credits include songs by Rascal Flatts, Casting Crowns, Scotty McCreery, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Danny Gokey, Mandisa / Married to Emily; two teen daughters, Lulu and Delaney