See A Great Light

Today's passages are Isaiah 9:2-5, Isaiah 60:1-5, and John 8:12.

"Going to bed", as a mom {at least for me}, means I might actually get go to bed an hour or two later. ESPECIALLY during the Advent season. I have presents to wrap, the dog needs to be fed, I have to unload the dishwasher, I need to figure out what I'm making for the following day's dinner, my son needs a packed lunch for the following day, and I have to move the dang elf of the shelf. Can you tell I get a little grumpy when I want to go to bed? Because I totally do.

Inevitably, I'll get through my nighttime to-do list, and I'll forget to unplug the Christmas lights. So when I'm feeling grumpy, and I really need to get a grip, I see the light twinkling over what would be a pitch black room. 

Let us never forget this: darkness can never overcome the light. So as we're stressed about our Holiday to-do lists, and we're frightened as we hear about so many terrorist attacks, let's stop to get some perspective. Christmas lights illuminating a dark room and a star over Bethlehem are the same truth. Darkness can't survive in light. 

So when I follow Jesus, it's like flicking on a light in my heart. He lights up our lives. Our darkness may be deep, but the brightness of that star over Bethlehem is our hope. So on the busiest and darkest days of the year, I invite you to slow down and celebrate the light.