It’s Somebody’s Birthday

It’s almost four years now since Leah died and I still struggle with going on a shopping trip on my own. Whenever possible I shop online or wait until one of my children (or my husband) is available to accompany me. However there are some occasions when I do have to go shopping alone. I try to keep these shopping trips as brief as possible.

In years gone by I loved shopping and my shopping trips often lasted for several hours, but it is definitely now something that I do very much out of necessity rather than for pleasure. Today was one of those days when I headed out alone to get a few bits and pieces. Life has been busier than usual lately, so my youngest and I haven’t had time recently to go on one of our regular joint shopping trips.

As soon as I entered Foyleside Shopping Centre I was immediately drawn to the beautiful sound of children singing. I instinctively moved in the direction of this sound until a choir of Primary School children sweetly singing Christmas songs came into my line of vision. This young choir was surrounded by other shoppers who had stopped to listen and by adoring parents capturing the moment on camera.

In an instant I was transported back to when I was that proud parent and Leah was a young girl in her Primary School choir. Leah loved to sing. Tears blurred my vision as my heart ached with longing to once again hear the sweet voice that every Christmas echoed throughout our house with the words of one of Leah’s favourite Christmas songs:

IT’S SOMEBODY’S BIRTHDAY

by Ian White

Crackers and turkeys and pudding and cream,
Toys in the window that I’ve never seen.
This is the Christmas that everyone sees,
But Christmas means more to me.

Chorus
It’s somebody’s birthday I won’t forget,
As I open the things that I get.
I’ll remember the inn and the stable so bare,
And Jesus who once lay there.
~
Everyone’s out shopping late every night,
For candles and presents and Christmas tree lights
This is the Christmas that everyone sees,
But Christmas means more to me.
~
Christmas morning, the start of the day,
There’s presents to open and new games to play.
This is the Christmas that everyone sees,
But Christmas means more to me.

My visit to Foyleside was brought to a swift ending – thirty minutes after I had parked my car I was back in it and driving away. Grief changes everything.

Our church has a service on Christmas morning at 10am, but unlike their mother, my children are not early risers. Therefore, by the time they have unwrapped their Santa presents, eaten breakfast and got dressed, Christmas morning has always been a bit of a rush.

Add to that the fact that we live 10 miles from our church, in an isolated rural location where the roads aren’t salted, then it becomes even more challenging to get four excited children/young people to church for 10am on Christmas morning.

For that reason, there have been some years where we have opted to have a family service together here in the house. On those occasions the planning and organising of the service generally fell on Leah’s shoulders, with some input from Miriam.

Here is Leah’s 2009 “Order of Service”

Leah’s choice of hymns varied from year to year but there was one song that she always insisted that we sang every year – “It’s Somebody’s Birthday” by Ian White.

Leah sang this song when she was a member of the Ballykelly Primary School Choir. Leah loved singing and she sang with a smile on her face. Leah also enjoyed singing in the Children’s Choir in our church during her Primary School years.

Every year when it was coming near Christmas, Leah could be heard singing:

“It’s somebody’s birthday I won’t forget,
As I open the things that I get.
I’ll remember the inn and the stable so bare,
And Jesus who once lay there.”