The Beauty Of The Christmas Lights

John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (NIV)

There are some things a mother never forgets: her baby's first steps, first words, and, in my case, my daughter's first sentence.

When she was a baby, we had moved in early December, and arranging our furniture came before putting up our tree, so it was a little late and a lot more haphazard-looking than I would have liked. But it was a tree, it had lights on it, and it would have to do for this year, I decided. The morning after it was decorated, I brought Heather into the living room to view the tree. At first she said nothing. "I'll turn on the lights," her father said.

For the longest time she stared in awe and wonder, mesmerized by the colourful lights and decorations. After what seemed like ages, she said, "Oh," and she pointed to the star, then to the lights. "Oh see the pretty!" she said at last. Even though I'd been busy and the tree didn't look special to my eyes, my tiny daughter could still see beauty when the lights were turned on.

This December as we rush from one activity to another, it is my prayer that others will see beyond our busyness and be drawn to the true light of the season, God's light. I pray we too will stand back and view the star and the Christmas scene with a renewed sense of awe and wonder, as God's light shines down through the ages to guide us to His gift, His Son, Jesus Christ, born in a manger in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago.

Prayer: Dear God, forgive us when we rush about and don't take time to see the real beauty of this holy season. Amen.