'Twas the day before Christmas (2014)

'Twas the day before Christmas,
And all thru the house,
Not a creature was stirring--
Thank goodness no mouse!
All the stockings were hung,
All the presents were wrapped,
The music; the mayhem--
All the fun, while I napped.


For tonight I must stay,
Awake at the helm,
For magic awaits,
in Mischief's sweet realm.
The toys and the glitter
Are sweet but sub-par,
For Mary's baby
got his own shiny star.


And when I ponder
Just what that gift means
To my soul and yours--
Well, it's more than it seams.
It's all about giving--
the best that you've got.
It's not about size,
or color, or shop.


A baby was born--
Heaven's best gift,
To show us a path,
And our burdens to lift.
No wrapping required,
'though I hear cloth was used.
And I've heard all the stories
of crowns that abused.


So on the 'morrow,
there'll be magic and tree.
Mixed all together
in exuberant glee--
But tonight is the time
By candle's bright light,
We gather to read,
Of that First Christmas Night.

Lights

I am sitting here at my desk at six on a Sunday morning.  My husband and children are asleep, while I have some time to 'just be' by myself.  I am used to this pattern.  I usually have an hour or so before anyone starts to wake up.  I can't claim I use this time to clean (I don't), or to prep for the day (not usually), but as the house is so still, this is the time where my thoughts tend to drift into the deep waters.......

Last night when we were driving home our daughter asked if we were putting up Christmas lights on the outside this year.  It was a logical question-- a few of our neighbors had already done so, and December was moving along.  My response was: "YES! I love Christmas lights!"  I don't actually love the take-down, but the putting them up part can be fun. Ok, sometimes it's frustrating, and it can turn into family 'discussions' if everyone is tired, but-- it's like magic....When all was dark, and suddenly there are lights-- which if you ask me, from a distance look like they are floating in the air-- and suddenly the world at is darkest, most lonely part of the year..... becomes filled with hope and filled with joy.  Who can say no to that?!

Those lights are symbolic because-- for me-- those lights represent not just a holiday filled with presents and cookies (which are nice and wonderful in their own right), but they represent the beginning of time when God said: Let there be Light, and there was Light..... The lights also remind me of how there was a time when God so loved the world (yes, this crazy, mixed up, often insane world), that he gave His son.... his baby boy-- to us-- US!--and once again, this place was filled with Light. 

Have you ever noticed how many traditions are filled with light?  Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas are the most familiar, but there are so many that stretch back in our human history. 

Living in darkness is not where we belong.  We belong in the light-- in light that brings people together in joy and gladness. Just like the lights on a house, or the lights from a candle-- when there is light, there is hope.  There is peace of heart, and a willingness to make room for another in the warmth of the flame.

There is LOVE.

Are we putting up lights?  YES.