December 14
Meet Me In St. Louis
A film that brings a tinge of sadness to Christmas is Meet Me in St. Louis. The story unfolds as a family wrestles with the father’s decision to relocate to New York City, leaving behind their beloved home just as the World’s Fair was to open in St. Louis.
A lasting reminder of the movie is found in its cherished Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, its words spoke not only of the plot of the movie, but also of the days of World War II in which it was written. Martin’s original lyrics fit the war years perfectly: “Someday soon we all will be together if the fates allow, until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow.” Sound familiar? Years later, the line was changed at Frank Sinatra’s request. He was working on an album entitled, “A Jolly Christmas,” and asked, “Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?” Thus, we now have “hang a shining star upon the highest bough.”
How our hearts want to “jolly” life up. A world war, a pandemic, a cancer diagnosis or a pink slip – pretending they aren’t real is denial, not faith. Indeed, there are times when all we can seem to do is to “muddle through somehow.” Yet even in the darkness, we can still reach toward light. As John so clearly wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Paul understood what we need to do:
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
II Corinthians 4:18
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