My final hymn written for this year is finished, and I am eager to share it with all of you as a Christmas gift.

I have long appreciated the beautiful melody of the song called The Coventry Carol. I also think it is fitting to remember the massacre of the innocents, as ordered by King Herod — poignantly described in those lyrics.

But I wanted to use the hopeful resolve at the tune’s end to lead us to focus on the bigger picture. Everything that was before and everything that came after: Christmas as we think of it was only one heartbeat in the span of the greater story.

Below is a video recording of my reworking, new words to a very old tune. Special thanks to brother Joshua Ku for playing and to my husband Paul Sasse for recording.

A blessed Christmas to every reader.