“Where are the Christmas lights?”
In my pre-dawn just-getting-up haze, I wondered why my sister who lived two hours away was texting me about holiday decorations.
I blinked the blur out of my eyes and looked at my phone again. This time I was able to read her question.
“Where is the light that is Christmas?”
I knew exactly what she meant.
At this time of the year, when all seems merriment and and caroling and sleighfuls of joy, life still has ample room for grief and loss, sadness and pain. Death has no calendar of holidays to avoid, and those left behind can find it hard to swing back onto the carousel of festivity that everyone else seems to be riding.
Decembers can be difficult.
I've asked myself a similar question at times ... "Why is this happening? Where is the good? How can this possibly be Your plan?"
When I was growing up, at this time of year there would appear on the horizon a light far in the distance that we could see from our house. I remember learning that it was the light on a Christmas star that was put up each year on an old lookout tower quite a few miles away.
As a young girl I looked for it each December, and when I could gaze out our dining room window and see that little light, I knew the holiday season had arrived.
For me as a child, it was the light that was Christmas.
Often in those Decembers there were rainy nights, snowy nights, foggy evenings. I'd look to the horizon and search with my eyes only to come up empty. I couldn't see the light. I knew it was there, but there were obstacles blocking my view and I just had to be patient and wait until the next night or the night after that when there would be clearer weather and I could see the twinkle of that star's illumination once again.
When I did, it made me smile.
In the December winter of life, be patient. Jesus, the one true Light that is Christmas, is still there. He hasn't moved. He didn't leave. He isn't going away.
You just need to wait for the weather to clear, and you'll see Him shining brightly once again.
And I bet it'll make you smile.
I knew exactly what she meant.
At this time of the year, when all seems merriment and and caroling and sleighfuls of joy, life still has ample room for grief and loss, sadness and pain. Death has no calendar of holidays to avoid, and those left behind can find it hard to swing back onto the carousel of festivity that everyone else seems to be riding.
Decembers can be difficult.
I've asked myself a similar question at times ... "Why is this happening? Where is the good? How can this possibly be Your plan?"
When I was growing up, at this time of year there would appear on the horizon a light far in the distance that we could see from our house. I remember learning that it was the light on a Christmas star that was put up each year on an old lookout tower quite a few miles away.
As a young girl I looked for it each December, and when I could gaze out our dining room window and see that little light, I knew the holiday season had arrived.
For me as a child, it was the light that was Christmas.
Often in those Decembers there were rainy nights, snowy nights, foggy evenings. I'd look to the horizon and search with my eyes only to come up empty. I couldn't see the light. I knew it was there, but there were obstacles blocking my view and I just had to be patient and wait until the next night or the night after that when there would be clearer weather and I could see the twinkle of that star's illumination once again.
When I did, it made me smile.
In the December winter of life, be patient. Jesus, the one true Light that is Christmas, is still there. He hasn't moved. He didn't leave. He isn't going away.
You just need to wait for the weather to clear, and you'll see Him shining brightly once again.
And I bet it'll make you smile.
Love this post. We've had some dreary days here and so I'm longing for the lights to shine again. I want my light of Jesus to shine. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alene- Merry Christmas to you too! I'll be praying that His light shines through, clear to all.
ReplyDeleteI love this...what a beautiful reminder of "the Light that is Christmas."
ReplyDeleteSo precious!!