As families across Alabama gather for Christmas, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) delivered his annual holiday message with a reminder that, as Christians, the season is ultimately about the birth of Jesus Christ, and the life-changing hope we still share from it today.

“We’ve come to that special time of year again, when we celebrate the birth of Christ,” Aderholt said in a video message.

“It is truly remarkable that an event that took place more than 2,000 years ago still touches so many lives all around the world. I’d like to recite a poem written by Dr. James Allen Francis, over 100 years ago about Christ and His impact on the world.”

One Solitary Life

By Dr. James Allen Francis

He was born in an obscure village,
The child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in still another village,
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty.
Then for three years
He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn’t go to college.
He never visited a big city.
He never traveled two hundred miles
From the place where he was born.
He did none of the things
One usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only thirty-three
When the tide of public opinion turned against him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to his enemies.
And went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross
Between two thieves.
While he was dying,
His executioners gambled for his clothing,
The only property he had on Earth.
When he was dead,
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone,
And today he is the central figure
Of the human race,
And the leader of mankind’s progress.
All the armies that ever marched,
All the navies that ever sailed,
All the parliament that ever sat,
All the kings that ever reigned,
Put together have not affected
The life of man on Earth
As much as that