“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never live in
darkness." ~ John 8:12
Woody’s brain was at 3% battery
power - a level of exhaustion nearing insanity.
He needed to shut down until completely recharged. He almost finished trimming a Christmas tree
that’d taken many days due to 2-year-old twins, frantic shopping, and a furnace
that retired unexpectedly.
Decorating the tree had always been his favorite holiday
tradition. But over the years, stringing
lights had proven to be the biggest area of contention. Woody thought the lights should be laced
loosely around the tree so that the tip of each branch twinkled. Rachel, in the name of structural integrity,
preferred to snugly bind the trunk so the lights cast shadows on the ornaments
outward.
This year, a friend had given them their old, pre-lit artificial
tree. No more arguments about
aesthetics, pine needles to clean up, or wads of colored lights to
untangle. Problem solved!
The decoration inspired nostalgia – tarnished glass
ornaments, hand-painted salt-dough figurines and vintage beaded garlands. They’d stopped using tinsel when the cat
joined the family. Candy canes were
hung just beyond the twins’ reach.
The final adornment, too, lacked elegance: an angel
fashioned from beige cloth and denim; each stitch sewn by his mother. Dirt smudges lined its face; its once shiny
wings had dulled with age.
But age wasn’t the only thing this little angel had
accumulated. It was soaked in joyful memories;
a bridge to years gone by. He climbed
the ladder and respectfully placed it atop the tree.
Woody slumped into his recliner just before eight-year-old
Kevin climbed onto his lap. “You gonna
turn on the lights?” he asked.
“Just waiting for you pal,” Woody replied, plugging in the
cord.
Nothing happened. The
tree remained dark.
Woody felt like crying (brain down to 1%)! “Maybe we should leave the lights off this
year.”
“Dad, we must have lights,” Kevin cautioned. “We learned in Sunday School that the
greatest things about light is that it helps us to see. The Bible calls Jesus the "light of the
world” and we celebrate this when we remember His birth.”
Of course, he thought as he began his quest to discover the
broken bulb or connection which caused the entire string to turn off.
Unraveling crisscrossed, knotted, and frayed Christmas
lights is a real test of patience. But
it seems the more we hurry, the more tangled they become. Eventually we discover our hurried pace only
lengthens the process and makes preparing for Christmas a chore instead of a
holy season of peace and tranquility.
Instead of literally getting caught up in Christmas lights,
embrace Advent with “joyful anticipation” of Jesus’ birth and rediscover how it
changed the world 2,000 years ago and still does to this day.
Jesus, don’t let me lose my direction or
become consumed by darkness because I took my eyes off of You. Just as you guided the wise men to Jesus, be
my guiding light this holiday season. Each day, realign my heart toward what
matters most. Amen.
