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We are quite suddenly quickly approaching Christmas, and I am growing nostalgic.  For the old days.  When Jungkook sang to me from YouTube.

“Kookie, would you sing O Holy Night for me?” I ask him on Sunday night as he practices his guitar.

He looks up at me, surprised.  “How did you know I was learning that song?”

I lift my eyebrows.  “I didn’t.  You are?  On the guitar?”

He nods.  “Yes.”  Then a trace of disappointment colors his voice as he speaks softly, “I was going to surprise you on Christmas Eve.”

My heart turns over.  This boy just seems to get sweeter and sweeter.  “Oh, Kookie!” I whisper.  “You are the sweetest!  Thank you!  I’m sorry I ruined your surprise.”

He shrugs.  “I know it’s your favorite Christmas song.”  Then he smiles in that way that always lights up my heart.  “I’ll play it for you now.  But I’m not sure it’s perfect yet.”

He bends his dark head over his guitar and begins to play the most beautiful Christmas song ever written.  I want to close my eyes and savor it.  But I also want to look upon his adorable face as his angelic voice matches the movement of his fingers on the strings.  I settle for gazing upon his lovely face.  

“Oh, holy night!  The stars are brightly shining.  It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.”  As he sings the last two words, he whispers them in the most adorable fashion ever.  

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Why does that melt my heart so?  It’s like he’s singing me a secret.  Sharing a confidence with me.  Then he does it again as he sings the lines a second time.  He’s inviting me into the best-kept secret of all time.  Somehow, his whisper emphasizes those two words.  The hush of his voice acknowledging their sacredness. 

Savior’s birth. 

They remind me of the truth I’ve already spent the entire weekend immersed in – that we’re entering my favorite time of the whole year.  This amazing celebration of our Savior’s birth.  When the air is infused with the scent of pine trees and hope and excitement.  When love is expressed in gift-giving and homemade-cookie-sharing.

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.  A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.  For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”

He closes his eyes as he sings the words with all his heart, and my own heart melts.  Keeping my eyes open, I’m not disappointed.  All the passion contained in his young heart flows into the expressions of his countenance as he sings this exultant song of worship with everything that he is made of.  

“Oh-oh-oh, fall-ll-ll on your knee-ee-ees.  Oh-oh-oh, hear-r-r the angels’ voices.  Oh, niiii-ight divine, oh, night when Christ was born.  Oh, night divine, holy night.”

I think of all those girls around the world in that alternate universe who would have been sighing along with me right now.  This song was written for this boy to sing it.  I am absolutely certain of this truth.  His voice lends it a sweetness that I’ve never heard before.  I bask in the glow created by his voice blending with the melody being birthed by his fingers lovingly stroking the strings of his guitar.

As I watch him, and as I listen to that incredible voice of his, my heart cries out to him, “You are such a darling!”

When he finishes the song, he looks up.  “Did it sound okay?”

Did it sound okay?  

“Kookie,” I speak with wonder in my voice, “it was beautiful.  Simply beautiful.  It was perfect.  And now I can enjoy you singing it every night this Christmas season.  It will be much better than if you’d waited until Christmas Eve.”  I beam at him.

He smiles with relief.  “Okay, Mom.  If it makes you that happy, I’ll sing it for you every night.  My own twenty-five-days-of-Christmas gift to you.”

“That’s perfect!” I respond, grinning.  

How blessed am I?  Jungkook personally serenading me every night of the whole Christmas season with my favorite song?!

“So, Kookie,” I begin to broach a delicate subject.

He glances up at me again after strumming his guitar once more.  “What?”

“Are you considering inviting Emmie to the Snow Ball?”

His eyes slide away from mine as he pretends to study his guitar strings.  “I think I need to tighten this string.”

“All right, Kookie,” I sigh.

His eyes meet mine again.  He quirks a dark eyebrow.

“I’ll leave you alone,” I murmur.  Then I give him a small smile.

He just stares at me for a moment before he bends his head over his guitar once more and begins to sing O Holy Night again.  Does he know that will shut me up for certain?  There is no way I’m talking over the sound of that beautiful voice singing straight into my heart.