When I was a child growing up, my Dad would put those old school big multi-colored bulbs on our house at Christmastime that twinkled very slowly. I remember laying in my bed at night (when I was supposed to be sleeping, of course) staring endlessly at those twinkle lights trying to figure out which one would blink next and enjoying the soft glow they gave my bedroom.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up occurred on Christmas Eve. After we attended or hosted whatever family get-together that was happening that night, we would pile into the car and drive all around our picturesque little town looking at all the Christmas lights people put up on their homes and businesses. Sometimes, if the weather permitted, we would get out and walk the downtown area and enjoy all of the beautifully decorated store fronts.
Nowadays, my house (indoors mostly) is bursting at the seams with Christmas lights. So much that we rarely use our lamps and overhead lights. We enjoy the cozy, warm atmosphere the Christmas lights create for us.
One of my favorite things to do is find moments of stillness amidst what is always an incredibly busy Christmas season. A little time late at night sitting by one of our Christmas trees playing/singing Christmas carols and having a little worship time. Things like that.
Something I love most is to look at the trees or the lights without my contacts in or my glasses on. That sounds silly, I know. Especially if you're aware how very blind I am without my contacts in or glasses on. Ha. Lights look pretty much like this to me without any vision assistance:
I cannot make out the tree they're on or the garland. All I can see is the glow of the lights in the darkness. It is these moments that serve to remind me of the purpose of our lives on this earth. To be a light in darkness.
While Christmastime is predominantly a joyful season of the year for me, it is a time of sadness, loneliness, depression, grief and despair for so many others. I've been there myself. There have been years where my life circumstances overshadowed the joy of the Christmas season and it was instead a very sad time. When you're in the midst of a difficult time, it is sometimes very hard to see light in your period of darkness. And when you can see glimpses of light, sometimes it's difficult to see where the light is coming from or what kind of light it is.
We just have to trust the hope that glimpses of light in darkness bring, even when they're not fully clear. We must have the faith to be confident in the fact that God will bring beauty and light into the darkness in His time and makes all things new.
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