This is That Time of the Year and we are all having a bit of a problem believing it. The calendar, the ads, the decorations everywhere you look all remind us Christmas is Coming! But I have to admit I’m having a bit of a problem getting in the mood. This year has been so unimaginable that Christmas doesn’t seem real. But we made the effort and put up our Christmas decorations last weekend. My husband and I got busy making Christmas visible on the exterior as well as the interior of our home in hopes that we might catch some holiday spirit. 🎄
As I’m sitting here trying to feel anything remotely like childlike Christmas spirit, I began to notice a common thread in our decorations – twinkling bright lights: lights on our tree, our mantle, our roof – everywhere it seems. And these lights bring us joy. The usual look of our home has taken on a happy, colorful sparkling warmth markedly more cheerful than at other times of the year. We love our home, but at Christmas time it takes on a holiday glow.
In the very beginning, Genesis 1:3, God said, “Let there be light.” Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World” in John‘s gospel; chapter 8:12. Light is God’s gift to us – it dispels darkness, reveals color, brings warmth, clarity, joy and reveals truth. Jesus told us he was the Light of the World – to light our way through the darkness of life and BE our Truth. The glow we see all around us this Christmas season is but a faint reflection of the great Light God’s love shines on those who seek Him.
So from wherever you sit as we begin this month of Christmas and Hanukkah, maybe you will view the lights all around you as a reminder of God’s great love. If your heart struggles, I pray you will look around and see in the bright lights that God sent His son to us not because we deserved it, but because He loves us. He proclaimed the Good News through a heavenly choir of angels to the shepherds in the fields and lit up the sky with a brilliant blazing Christmas star to guide the way.
I’m feeling a bit more Christmas spirit as I think on these things. We all need to be reminded to look up when our mind might be telling us not only to look away but to shut our eyes completely! Let’s keep our hope and trust in God and celebrate Christmas in whatever form it may appear in this crazy year of 2020. Bring it on, Lord Jesus!
Prayers and Paintbrushes 