Christmas Conversion (For St Therese of Lisieux) by Jeff Callaway
Christmas Conversion
By Jeff CallawayTexas Outlaw Poet
for Saint Therese of Lisieux
The bells had tolled their midnight hymn,
And snow lay quiet on the rim.
My shoes, once filled with magic cheer,
Waited like whispers I’d hold dear.
Céline leaned close, her voice a thread,
“Wait, little sister, wait,” she said.
But heartstrings pulled me down the stair,
And in that moment, God was there.
Papa, worn with Mass behind,
Spoke words that pierced my tender mind:
“Too babyish, this year be done,
A big girl now—you’ve only begun.”
The echo cut through fragile skin,
A mirror of the child within.
I choked the tears I’d held so tight,
And stepped into that holy night.
The chimney-corner, shoes aglow,
Held trinkets scattered in soft snow.
Each ribboned gift, a memory spun,
A childhood’s play of light and fun.
Yet something stirred beneath my breast,
A fire that would not let me rest.
For in his voice, so sharp, so true,
The Lord was shaping something new.
I pulled each present with trembling hands,
Played the queen in our quiet lands.
Papa laughed, no frown to find,
Yet Céline’s glance tried to unbind
The shock of change, the sudden grace,
That shone like sunlight on my face.
Little Thérèse, no more confined,
Had strength of heart once lost, now mined.
All trifles past, all tears and cries,
Fell like leaves from winter skies.
The Lord, who labored night and day,
Had cast His net in gentle sway.
And from that net, the gift poured wide,
A fisher’s heart, with love inside.
Self-forgetful joy, my soul now crowned,
A spirit free, in grace unbound.
The third great period, beauty’s peak,
Had dawned upon my heart so meek.
No visions bright, no angel’s song,
Just ordinary life made strong.
Yet in that ordinary space,
I saw the infinite embrace.
A miracle in shoes and cheer,
A Christmas God had drawn so near.
From then my path was lit, aglow,
A river where His mercies flow.
All childish faults now laid aside,
A little way of love my guide.
I learned to fish with nets of prayer,
To cast my heart through grief and care.
And in that room, beneath the light,
Jesus transformed my soul that night.
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