by Rachel Person
I LOVE Christmas. It has always been one of my most favorite times of the year as far back as I can remember. Admittedly, I am a nostalgia queen and Christmas, with its traditions galore, is the perfect time to reflect back and reminisce upon all that means most to me. I also love DECORATING for Christmas. I think I have a total of 10 extra large totes full of Christmas decorations. Not. Kidding. Anyone who has been to my home during the Christmas season has seen the “explosion of Christmas” that occurs all over the house every year!
I would venture to guess that most people, both young and old, would agree that one of their favorite parts of Christmas is the tree. (possibly for the kids because of what it holds underneath) Each family has their own traditions of what kind (real vs. artificial), what style (humble or ornate), what theme (Disney or kids’ ornaments or popcorn garland) and some even down to the tree variety (spruce, fir, or pine, oh my!). I know several families that make it a tradition to go soon after Thanksgiving (trudging through the snow, uphill both ways of course ☺) on the quest for the “perfect” tree. I always laugh a little on the inside when I see all of the trees strapped to the tops of the cars on their jaunt home (think “Christmas Vacation”).
We are an artificial family. As in tree. (Otherwise we are about as real as it gets, and let me say, it’s not always pretty). I haul up 2 of the 10 Christmas bins, crank up the Christmas music and spend the next 2 hours setting up our tree, fluffing branches, climbing up and down from the stool a few hundred times, until the magical moment happens and it is standing in its glory in the middle of the big picture window. And then I silently think to myself, “why hasn’t someone invented a Christmas tree that sets up itself? I’m pretty sure Inspector Gadget could’ve had a button for that. Go, go gadget Christmas tree!” I digress.
This year, as I stood and admired the tree towering above me (and my perfect branch fluffing abilities-haha!), I thought about how plain it looked. Although it’s always been “perfect” and “ours,” what it was lacking was so very evident in that moment. What separates a Christmas tree from any other tree is its LIGHT. As I began to string the lights around the tree – and grumble slightly about my Christmas light conspiracy theory that they purposefully make them so they last just under a year and you therefore have to invest in new ones EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR – my heart beamed as brightly as the tree because I realized in that moment what an exact and perfect representation it was of what Christmas is truly about.
CHRISTmas is the time of year when we remember and celebrate Jesus’ birth ~ the light of the world came to be born, live in human form, and bring us out of darkness. (Tweet this) God looked down from heaven and saw the world He had created and although it was good, He knew His creation needed a Savior. We needed the LIGHT. As I stepped back in awe looking at my brightly lit Christmas tree, I immediately saw the difference light makes. What a stark contrast to the plain, darkened tree I had just looked upon a few moments before. It now shone so brightly in its glory. Just like that tree, I have also seen the difference Jesus’ light has made in my own life over the years. What was once in the dark is now full of His glorious love and light.
How thankful I am for the greatest gift of light that God sent for me and for the world in His son, Jesus. This Christmas, may the LIGHT of the world be yours and may He SHINE brightly on you, in you and through you, as you remember the reason for this season.
John 12:46 “I have come into the world as LIGHT, so that everyone who believes in ME will not remain in darkness.”
LOVE and LIGHT,
Rachel
Rachel Person…
is a married, Midwest, mother of 5. She’s an ENFP, coffee addicted, sunshine adoring, outdoor adventuring, jeep driving, adrenaline addict. As a 2 time American Ninja Warrior competitor, she’s an energetic, eternal optimist with a passion for pull-ups, photography, and people.
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