This Little Light of Mine

“The sink is leaking.” I sigh as my wife walks away. Yet another to-do added to my already overflowing list of to-dos that need handling right away – or sooner. While I personally long for a simple, quiet life, it eludes me like a dog avoiding a trip to the vet. Life seems so much fuller and frustrating these days and I struggle to pinpoint the cause. I’d like to blame all the new technology that is supposed to enhance and ease my life but instead adds another layer of complexity along with its own list of things that need to be done. Then there’s the responsibilities and unexpected surprises that come with owning a small business, the seemingly never-ending tasks that need attention at my church, and the messiness of relationships that come with both friends and family. I confess, it can all be overwhelming. Enter the holiday season. From late October thru early January, it seems my life’s path becomes more of a slippery slope, running downhill with too many friends and family activities, church functions, end-of-year business requirements, house decorating, house un-decorating, fixing, installing, assembling, upgrading. There is so much that needs to be done while offering little chance to get one’s feet back under them before the avalanche buries us whole. Can anyone relate? But, before I stress you out completely, let me offer a way out, or in as it probably should be said, the way in – and out – that only works when we remember the door that is there but must be opened. Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (Rev. 3:20 NLT). At some point in my younger days, I got the mistaken impression that I could handle most anything. Give me a tough job, new responsibility, major change, it didn’t matter to me – I was up for it, and pretty sure I could do it better than most. As I’ve meandered through the years, my attitude has changed significantly as I realize I do have limitations and even, God-forbid, that dreaded of all words – at least to a man – weaknesses.

by Larry VanHoose

Those dreaded limitations and weaknesses are why the door has become so important to me. I honestly don’t know how anyone makes it through the holidays, much less the rest of the year, without having Jesus residing in the house. He is the author of a peace that goes beyond my circumstances (Phil.4:6-7), the reason that joy is even possible in this crazy, mixed-up world, and the source of hope for the long, overwhelming days ahead. I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13 NLT).

Look, I don’t know anyone who wants to be miserable and so overwhelmed with holiday tasks, responsibilities, and missed opportunities, that they forget the true meaning of the holidays and skip to hoping for the best in a new year. But I do think that most, if not all of us, fall into the trap of leaving our door shut and locked tight in our busyness, which unfortunately keeps him who we need the most from coming in and setting all things right in our little upside-down world. I once heard a story about a man who had a recurring dream. Each night for two weeks he had the same dream. In the dream he was driving on a curvy mountain road, full of switchbacks, sharp curves, and downhill runs. In the same place of the dream and after a particularly sharp curve, he’d look up to see a large white billboard with a huge pink pig smiling and looking down at him. Each morning he’d wake up confused wondering why was he dreaming about a big dumb pig on a billboard? Finally, after two weeks of the same frustrating thing, he got down on his knees and prayed that God would give him the meaning of the “swine-ful sign.” After a short while in his prayer closet, he had words – no more of a question – well up inside of him, a question that both confused and concerned him. “What did the sign say?” the inner voice asked. “What do you mean, what did the sign say? I don’t know. Nothing I think, all I saw was a big pink pig.” “What did the sign say?”

Continued from Page 8 That night, he thought about the question he’d more felt than heard and he resolved to infiltrate his dream, if possible, and see if the sign had anything on it other than the pink pig. Sure enough, shortly after he’d fallen asleep, he was back in the dream, behind the wheel on the curvy, mountain road. Even though he was dreaming, he remembered that he needed to look closely for anything on the sign other than the pig. As he made the final turn, he looked up and to his surprise, on the right just next to the pig were these large words in bold font, “Don’t Be Distracted.” The message was clear, insightful, and one I suppose we all need to hear as we enter that busiest of seasons. The reason for the season is as important to us now as it was when the shepherds outside of Bethlehem Judaea first heard it. Just don’t get distracted… Luke 2:4-14 (NLT) And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

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