Light

“Jesus said, I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

I have so many Christmas decorations which have as their major component the small white lights of Christmas.  I love lights at this time of year.  They truly brighten those dark places and give the house and my soul that warm Christmas glow.

Last week I had painstakingly put out all the decorations, carefully placed the fragile items, spent hours on the ladder, and finally felt ready to plug it all in and relax in the glow of Christmas decorations!  As I prepared to plug all the lights into their respective extension cords, I suddenly had this feeling of dread come over me.  I didn’t check the lights beforehand to make sure they worked!

Sure enough, as I began plugging them in, one string after another failed to light!  I felt a bit like Clark Griswald in his famous scene from “Christmas Vacation”.  One little light in each of these strings was not working, but which one of the hundreds could it be?

I had vowed this year not to let the small things bother me, but this one thing was ruining my Christmas spirit.  Instead of the total light I was expecting, only a small portion of the expected light shone into the room. The dark spaces were still there.

So many people in this world are living in the darkness of their situation. Children around the world are living in war zones, hungry and facing death each day; trucks with explosives are killing innocent people; homeless brothers and sisters are enduring the elements without the proper shelter or food; families are facing losing loved ones; children are enduring treatment for cancer; and our servicemen are away from their homes and families as they seek to protect us.

As I restrung new lights over the old ones, the lights began to glow with the warmth and joy which represents Christmas to me.  Each dark space became aglow with new light.  I had replaced darkness with light.  That’s how I see Christmas.  The light of the world, Jesus, comes into our hearts and lives and drives the darkness away.

Merry Christmas!!