The Christmas Guest

The first time I ever heard this was many years ago. It was the week of Christmas, it was fairly late in the evening, and I was driving home from a customer site.

It so touched me, that I just sat there driving, tears streaming down my face.

I never heard it again, and could never find the name of the performer.

Today, on a whim, I did a Google search. I'm not sure what inspired me. Maybe it was Jamie and Jeanie trimming the tree. I didn't find it on the first try, or the second, or even the third. But eventually, I did find that it was a poem written by Helen Steiner Rice, performed by Reba McEntire.

I share it here, in the hope that you find joy in it as well.

The Christmas Guest

It happened one day near December’s end,
two neighbors called on an old-time friend,
and they found his shop so meager and mean,
made gay with a thousand boughs of green.

And Conrad was sitting with face a-shine,
when he suddenly stopped as he stitched a twine,
and he said, “Old friends, at dawn today,
when the cock was crowing the night away,
the Lord appeared in a dream to me and said, “I am coming your guest to be”.

So I’ve been busy with feet astir,
strewing my shop with branches of fir,
the table is spread and the kettle is shined,
and over the rafters the holly is twined.

Now I will wait for my Lord to appear,
and listen closely so I will hear,
His step as He nears my humble place,
and I open the door and look in His face”.

So his friends went home and left Conrad alone,
for this was the happiest day he had known.
For long since his family had passed away,
and Conrad has spent many a sad Christmas Day.

But he knew with the Lord as his guest,
this Christmas would be the dearest and best.
So he listened with only joy in his heart,
and with every sound he would rise with a start,
and look for the Lord to be standing there,
in answer to his earnest prayer.

So he ran to the window after hearing a sound,
but all that he saw on the snow-covered ground,
was a shaggy beggar whose shoes were torn,
and all his clothes were ragged and worn.

But Conrad was touched and went to the door,
and he said, “Your feet must be frozen and sore,
I have some shoes in my shop for you,
and a coat that will keep you warmer too!”

So with grateful heart the man went away,
but as Conrad noticed the time of day,
he wondered what made the dear Lord so late,
and how much longer he'd have to wait.

When he heard a knock he ran to the door,
but it was only a stranger once more.
A bent old lady with a shawl of black,
and a bundle of kindling piled on her back.

She asked for only a place to rest,
but that was reserved for Conrad’s Great Guest.
Yet her voice seemed to plead, “Don’t send me away,
let me rest for while on Christmas Day.”
So Conrad brewed her a steaming cup,
and told her to sit at the table and sup.

But after she left, he was filled with dismay,
for he saw that the hours were passing away,
and the Lord had not come as He said He would,
and Conrad felt sure he had misunderstood.

When out of the stillness he heard a cry,
“Please help me and tell me where am I”.
So again he opened his friendly door
and stood disappointed as twice before.
It was only a child who had wandered away
and was lost from her family on Christmas Day.

Again, Conrad’s heart was heavy and sad,
but he knew he should make the little girl glad.
So he called her in and wiped her tears
and quieted her childish fears.
Then he led her back to her home once more.

But as he entered his own darkened door,
he knew that the Lord was not coming today,
for the hours of Christmas had passed away.
So he went to his room and knelt down to pray,
and he said, "Dear Lord, why did you delay?
What kept You from coming to call on me,
for I wanted so much Your face to see”.

When soft in the silence a voice he heard,
“Lift up you head for I kept My word.”
“Three times My shadow crossed your floor—
Three times I came to your lonely door—
For I was the beggar with bruised, cold feet,
I was the woman you gave something to eat,
and I was the child on the homeless street.”

“Three times I knocked, three times I came in,
and each time I found the warmth of a friend”.

Of all the gifts, love is the best,
I was honored to be your Christmas Guest.

by Helen Steiner Rice

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Posted by David at December 01, 2002 07:51 PM