“Lights in the Darkness,” photograph by Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

Believing through the darkness into the light…what a revelation awaits us there!

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”  John 1:4-5

If you’ve been busy getting started on decorating your home for Christmas as I have, you will likely agree on how frustrating it can be to untangle the string of Christmas tree lights before hanging them (or tossing them away!).  The title for this post Believing Through the Darkness came to my mind just at the moment I did grab the trash can and was ready to throw my wad of lights into it.  Taking a deep breath, I decided to plug in the darkened bulbs one last time, and you know what?  The tiny lights seemed to sparkle, as though they were smiling at me.

Believing through the darkness, those times when our lives are not so cheery and bright, can be just as frustrating as dealing with tangled lights.  The thing is, we can’t just toss our lives away now can we?  Nope, we have to live them one day, one hour, one minute, one second at a time. Each increment of time can represent the knots in the string of lights that get even tighter when we tug and pull on them trying to get them apart.  The more we think about a problem that has us completely tangled, it wraps around us so tightly that we become trapped under a heavy coating of darkness that seems to smother us.

When I started tackling my mound of twisted strings of lights for a second round, I took one strand at a time and followed it through to the end.  As I cleared one strand, and then another, it felt as though I was following a unique path full of twists and turns with each one.  The same is true for each of our lives…we travel along dark and bumpy roads, yet when we get to the clear, smooth highway just ahead of us, our journey becomes filled with the warm glow of hope that sees us through to our destination.

I eventually got the lights all in order and strung around the tree.  My frown turned into a brilliant smile, as I stood staring at all of those tiny sparkles that dazzled before my eyes.  What a delight it is to see my little tree standing there, adorned with the twinkling array of colors and welcoming me home when I pull up to the driveway…it is the same glow that fills my heart when I think of the true light that fills my life; who’s birth we celebrate during this Christmas season.

May the life that Jesus Christ offers be the true light that guides you on your life’s journey.

Peace and love,

Felecia