The Light Of Life

One of our family traditions is to attend a candlelight Christmas Eve service.  It is somewhat of a tradition because Brad is normally planning the service, but we would be attending one regardless of whether he was in the ministry or not.  This year he was planning for two candlelight Christmas services, one for last Sunday night at our Parma location and one for Christmas Eve at our Jackson facility.  On Christmas Eve, after the service, everyone was in a big circle around the perimeter of the sanctuary and we were beginning to pass the light around the circle with our candles, but it was taking longer than our pastor had planned.  It got to the point where we could tell our pastor was finished with what he had planned to speak about and he was beginning to fill the time.  Brad and I looked at each other like, "OKAY, should we do something?"  The candles were still only about halfway lit around the room and so we could have started singing a song to fill the time....but, Savannah decided to walk through the middle of the circle with her candle and take the light to the "DARK SIDE" of the circle.

I don't know why the image of that event has been spinning in my mind so much over the last two days, but it was a special moment for me to watch her do that.  I know it wasn't really something she wanted to do because she sometimes gets a little self-conscious in front of people, but she realized what we were thinking and she thought she could take the light to where it was needed.  That sparked my brain to connect Jesus, BEING THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, with our responsibility to share that light!

I think it was just incredibly meaningful and a symbol of what I HOPE for all my kids....that they will realize places in the world that are dark and be the ones to take the LIGHT to those places.

Compounding upon that monumental MOM-ent for me was the ride home after the service.....We had already heard the Christmas story twice, and I knew that we would be hearing it again later at Brad's parent's home on Christmas day.....but, Savannah asked if she could read the Christmas story to our family on Christmas morning.  First, I thought about how many times we have already listened to it this year and then I realized how it is SOOOOO NOT about how many times I have heard it.... it is about how many times it is told.  EACH TIME IT IS TOLD, THE LIGHT GROWS STRONGER TWOFOLD.....IT IS STRENGTHENED IN THE TELLER AND IT IS PASSED TO SOMEONE!  I struggled with keeping my emotions in check while Savannah read us the Christmas story and apologized for mispronouncing some of the names....because suddenly the TELLING of the story took on a new meaning to me!