A Light for a World of Darkness

I was convinced it was torture, but then again, what does a little girl from a middle-class American family truly know about such matters? All I knew was that the boxes of shiny glass ornaments were already bearing their hooks, and I was more than eager to find a place for them on the tree. My younger sister, Kelly, was ready to pounce, too.

There was a 5-foot, 10-inch obstacle — and it wasn’t the tree.

It was my Dad, who was half obsessive and half ornery. In those days, we used stringed strands with lights a bit bigger than a Hershey’s Kiss. Each socket had a connector below the light to ensure it stayed upright on the branches. For Dad, each connector not only had to be secured, but its placement required perfection — equally spaced and no same colors together.

Instead of a refrain of “Are we there yet?” It became, “Are you finished yet?” The more we begged, the more he seemed to slow down, flashing an occasional Cheshire cat smile.

Eventually, Dad finished the task, and the race to get the shiny orbs on the tree began. The task of the tree decorating wasn’t complete in our household, though, until he took the tinsel, separated them into two evenly spaced strands, and carefully draped them in strategic openings around the tree.

To this day, one of my favorite things during the Christmas season is the flickering colored lights, radiating majesty on those glass ornaments.

It reminds me of a simpler time and the days when torture was little more than teasing.

It also reminds me of the light of Christ, who came under the cover of darkness to heal a sick and broken world. He entered my world and heart when I was a young adult in need of a spiritual physician — and the lights of Christmas have never been brighter.
 

“It also reminds me of the light of Christ, who came under the cover of darkness to heal a sick and broken world.”

May we never forget that Light, especially after each colored strand is wound up and all the ornaments are carefully tucked back into their off-season cubbies.

"The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:9-13, English Standard Version).
 

Photo at top by Gerd Altmann / Pixabay
 

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Lori Arnold serves as the senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.

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