Twenty years ago we lived in a house completely surrounded by trees. One night, after midnight, we heard the scream of a baby in pain. We got up and searched, thinking someone may have thrown a baby from a car into the trees. Despite the cries we could not locate the baby.

Finally I felt inspired to look up into the trees. There it was up a tree!

Porcupine in tree

Porcupine in tree

It was the first time we had ever encountered the call of a porcupine. No one could miss the sound echoing through the trees, calling for I don’t know what.

The call of the Christmas Child rings out through the earth in an equally distinct way. Some ignore it, though I cannot grasp how such a hardened heart could develop that takes no notice. Some look where one would expect it, in religion or self-help models, but they never look up.

I awoke today with all this in my brain. So I share it with you, including this verse:

Mothers sought to find it,
Fathers did their part,
but none of them could quiet
The Babe-cry in their hearts.