Seeking the Light

 Today we got the message from Dylan's Middle School that it will not reopen for in person attendance until January 11th ... big "if" implied.  Dylan did not like to hear that news.  Believe it or not, he enjoys going to school.  He detests online learning.  He was counting the days to get back to face-to-face on December 14th as they had anticipated.  So hearing about the postponement brought up darkness to his heart.

So, in order to cheer him up, we decided it was a good day to have them set up the kids' tree.  We have been collecting Christmas ornaments since they were born...so now we have enough to fill up a nice, big tree.  Once a year, the two brothers work together, side-by-side, if only one time without much fight, hanging ornaments, reminiscing and recalling why they got that particular piece on that year.  They laugh and make fun of each other when they find the curiously odd ones, like the Elvis Dylan got in 2018 or the rhinoceros she got last year.  All in all, kids' tree day is usually a good day...a day of merry and bright...a day to forget darkness and seek the light.

In this world of catastrophe, trial, sadness, loneliness, pandemic, isolation, political debacle, corruption, idolatry and instability, we must be people who seek the Light at all cost.  As Christians, we must remember that the Light shines in the darkness and that darkness has not and will not ever overcome it.  (John 1: 5)  As followers of Jesus, we need to be aware that the Light has dawned in the land of the shadow of death, a Great Light, indeed, that breaks through and defeats all the dark spots around us. (Matthew 4: 16)  And we must hang on to the truth that such Light is as real now as He was when He first touched the ground as a man, a couple of thousands of years ago,

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.” - John 8:12

This Advent Season let's be seekers of the Light so the world can shine again, and fear may disappear.  Let's seek His Light in the faces of those who walk with us.  Let's seek it in the random acts of kindness and pass it forward.  Let's seek it in the ordinary days and in the special moments.  Let's be intentional as we seek the Light so we can find it in the awareness of the instant.

May the Holy Spirit allow us to have the strength to turn our back to the comfort we often find in the darkness, and shake off its cover so we can wholeheartedly seek the Light of His Presence, the Light of Life.  In the Precious Name of Jesus.  Amen!

Dylan and Grant hanging their ornaments in the Kids' Tree