Andrea Bocelli is arguably one of the most beloved and commercially successful tenors in recent decades. His achingly beautiful duet with Sarah Brightman, “Con Te Partirò (“Time To Say Goodbye”), from the best-selling 1997 compilation album Romanza, has had over 175 million plays on Spotify alone.

According to Wikipedia, “Bocelli was born to Alessandro and Edi Bocelli on 22 September 1958. His sight was impaired from birth due to congenital glaucoma. He stated that his mother’s decision to give birth to him and overrule the doctor’s advice was the inspiration for him to oppose abortion.”

“Bocelli grew up on his family’s farm, where they sold farm machinery and made wine in the small village of La Sterza, Tuscany, Italy, about 40 km south of Pisa. His mother and younger brother Alberto still live in the family home; his father died in 2000.”

“Bocelli showed a great passion for music as a young boy. His mother has said that music was the only thing that would comfort him. He started piano lessons at age 6 and later learned to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, and drums. His nanny Oriana gave him the first record of Franco Corelli, and he began to show interest in pursuing the career of a tenor. By age 7, he was able to recognize the famous voices of the time and tried to emulate the great singers.”

Naturally, I’m a big Bocelli fan. Whenever I hear him sing “Amazing Grace”, I stop in my tracks. Celine Dion once famously said, “If God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli.” Hyperbolic, yes. But surely Bocelli’s talent is a gift to us from God.

Considering Christmas is only three sleeps away (yikes!), I’d like to share “The Greatest Gift”, a beautiful song featuring three Bocellis – Andrea, his son Matteo, and daughter Virginia:

Come and lay your head upon my shoulder
Look outside the stars are shining bright
Even though it’s turned a little colder
We can light a fire, stay inside
 

Hear the angels sing
Hear the angels sing
Hallelujah from above
Singing peace on earth
There’ll be peace on earth
If we open up our hearts
And give a little love

The greatest gift is love 

Gather friends and family ‘round the table
Remember those we love no longer here
Together take a moment and be grateful
For the joy, for the tears

Hear the angels sing
Hear the angels sing
Hallelujah from above
Singing peace on earth
There’ll be peace on earth
If we open up our hearts
And give a little love

The greatest gift is love

For many, Christmas is a difficult time of year. If you are missing loved ones, my heart goes out to you. Hopefully, each of us can take some time this week to remember the greatest gift. God’s gift of love is wrapped up beautifully in the timeless verse found in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

This Christmas, as people across the world commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6), my prayer is that the words of John 3:16 encourage you. From all of us here at Dads4Kids, we pray you have a very blessed Christmas.

Lovework

If you can, this week, gather friends and family around the table. As the Bocellis sing, make sure you take a moment and be grateful. If you can, take your family to a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day church service and celebrate God’s gift of love together.

Yours for the Greatest Gift,

Nathaniel Marsh

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Photo via InfoGibraltar/Wikimedia Commons.

About the Author: Nathaniel Marsh

Qualified Trainer for Dads4Kids, Nathaniel is passionate to see hearts turn to the Father. As a professional filmmaker, Nat worked in advertising and television for 20 years and has been helping Dads4Kids behind the scenes since 2002. Nat has been married to Jodi since 2004, and they have five daughters.

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