Seeing the Light

Let me just say, I've had an amazing Christmas. We are so very blessed! I can't even begin to say how wonderful God has been to us this year, I can't even count all of my blessings. They are too numerous to tell. 

Yet, now that I have stopped, now that the festivities are over, my heart is heavy. Maybe it's because this time of year always brings a sort of melancholy along with it. Maybe it's because my family is so far away. Maybe it's because I'm missing my friend (who has gone on to be with the Lord) terribly today. Maybe it's because time is passing, kids are growing up, I'm getting older, life is different...there are a thousand maybes. 

Whatever the reason(s), I was randomly looking through my photos from this year, and this one caught my eye. I've loved it since I took it. For some reason, it spoke to me. As it does now. 

God, with his still, small voice, whispered into my soul to stop. To take it all in. 

"What do you see?" 

Flowers. Slightly out of focus. Only the back side of one. Shadows. Light. 

"Yes. But out of all of the flower and butterfly photos, this one is your favorite. It's imperfect. You can't see the whole picture. It's fuzzy, and shadowy, and really doesn't show the perfection of the flowers...but to you it is beautiful! That's how life is. It's very imperfect, and fuzzy, and you can't see the big picture. You see (and feel) the shadows sometimes. Any of those negatives alone would make it a bad photograph...a bad life. But all of those together, along with the power of the Light are what gives it true beauty." 

So true! And what better time to be reminded of this, than the day we celebrate the birth of the Light of the world!  God sent his Son to BE the Light.  He's the only one who can (as my daddy would say) shed some Light on the subject.  He is the only Light that can dispel the darkness, bring our lives into focus, and Light our way.  

In the true spirit of Christmas, I'm embracing the shadows of life. Embracing the fact that my future is fuzzy and out of focus. I have no idea what next year holds. I'm accepting that I don't have to see the whole picture, much less the big picture. I just have to keep my focus on the Light, and He will put it all together and make it beautiful.  

-Thank you, God, for sending your Son to be our Light.  Thank you, Jesus, for being that Light, and for leading my way.  Help me to keep my focus on you.  Happy Birthday, Jesus!  Merry Christmas!