It had been a long day at work, and I still needed to run by the drugstore before I could head home. As I drove along the dark highway, my tired mind swirled with mundane thoughts. Is there enough leftover quiche in the refrigerator for dinner? I really need to get my Christmas cards out in the mail. When are those modules due at work?
At a red light, I picked up my phone to check my texts, but something caught my eye. It was a small house, set back from the road next to an empty corn field. I can’t tell you how many years I’ve passed by this residence. I’d never seen any decorations before. But this season, someone had put up Christmas lights.
A string of multi-colored bulbs, the kind I remembered from my childhood, framed the front door and were wrapped around the banister of the tiny porch. There was also a wreath on the door, and when I squinted my eyes, I could make out the silhouette of a Christmas tree behind the sheer drapes in the front window. But it was the lights I noticed the most.
For the rest of my drive, I took notice around me. There seemed to be more than the usual amount of holiday cheer being displayed. Nearly every home I passed was decorated for Christmas. Some were modest. Some were on a much larger scale, with inflatable Christmas characters waving from lawns, and large homes wrapped in hanging lights from top to bottom. Most fell somewhere in between.
This is hope, I thought.
Our country is in the middle of a global pandemic that doesn’t appear to have an end in sight. Untold thousands have lost their jobs and businesses. And we’re standing on the precipice of a political upheaval on a scale of which I’ve never seen in my lifetime.
But people are still putting up Christmas lights.
It may sound silly to some, but I find such hope in simple efforts like these. With all that’s happened this year, both here in America and indeed all around the globe, who could blame a person for shouting, “Bah, humbug!” And yet, so many have chosen to keep the spirit of Christmas in their hearts and display it for all to see.
My message for you, dear reader, is that Christmas should be a wondrous time of year as we celebrate the birth of the One who went from the manger to a cross in order to redeem us all. No matter the distractions surrounding us, no matter if governments rise or fall, no matter what has transpired in 2020, Jesus is still the true Light that offers abundance of hope for all who will receive Him.
