I can’t remember a Christmas I didn’t put out decorations of some kind. Some years I put them out with a certain excitement and anticipation of something wonderful. Other years I was less enthusiastic, decorating more out of obligation than an expectant heart. Here are a few of the decorations that adorn my house this year.
Our Christmas tree
Made with my grandchildren’s footprints.
This church has lit my house at Christmas for over 30 years.
A cheerful trio.
A Christmas tree forest atop my china hutch.
Brightly lit banister.
A Merry Christmas crocheted by my grandma.
An intricate quilt made by my mother.
Two of my nativity scenes.
Quilted wall hanging made by my mom.
I love this sweet Christmas plate with children portraying Mary, Joseph, and the angel.
My daughter’s Christmas stocking I cross-stitched for her many moons ago.
Christmas pure and simple.
Old ceramic tree from a friend who is no longer with us.
So what’s the point of all these decorations? I often wonder the same thing. But I think they really do remind us that this isn’t an ordinary time of year. It’s a time that is filled with wonder, light, and hope. It’s extravagant because of the extravagant Gift that was given on that dark night so long ago. Dark, not only because the sun had gone down, but because the world was filled with evil and negativity, as it is today.
We need the Light. The bright star that guided the wise men was only a pinhole of the light that filled the world when Jesus was born. The angels that shone in the heavens above the shepherds, the glory of God that shone round about them, was only a precursor to the true Light they’d find in the stable.
These decorations I put around my house at Christmastime are an inadequate reflection of the glory, the joy, the light, that came into the world that night. They’re visual reminders that the world, though it can be gloomy, is still filled with the light of His presence. And that gives me hope. Not just hope for the Christmas season, but hope for all of life and all of this world. As long as there’s Jesus, there’s hope. For me and for you.
So tomorrow, celebrate wildly, extravagantly, with great joy and love, for the indescribable Gift given by a loving God.
Merry Christmas!
