Blogs

Have you seen anything that stopped you in your tracks, and you couldn’t quite figure out why? That happened to me during Christmas 2023. Holidays and special events can be more difficult after you’ve lost a loved one, and that has been my case after the death of my husband in 2021. However, something happened as I was out and about mailing Christmas packages to loved ones in December. 

I have an affinity for small Nativities and felt drawn to a particular one in a store display. It looked partially like a giant snow globe, for I could see snow-like particles in the bottom. It was not a snow globe in the usual sense. However, it had a place for batteries, so I was hopeful.

After getting home with my Christmas present to myself, I supplied it with batteries and turned it on. Something unexpected followed, and I stood spellbound for several minutes. The liquid in my “snow globe” was stirred by some quiet little motor causing the “snow” to circulate. A small light shining down from the top interior caused the snow to sparkle, giving the appearance of a light coming down from heaven onto the baby and couple in the scene.

I placed my “snow globe” in a prominent place and turned it on. Over the following weeks, the sparkling caught my eyes every time I walked into the room. And I would feel the most wondrous feeling of exhilaration sweep over me.

"What is this?” I kept asking myself. “Why am I responding like this?”

“It’s as if music springs forth in my soul like effervescent bubbles rising to the surface to explode in joy.”

“What's causing this every time my eyes land on the sparkling and twinkling Nativity?”

One day, I was sitting at my kitchen table when something about the glittering caught my eye. “What’s that?” By now, I was staring. I shook my head because I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. When one of the glittering sparkles reflected light, it looked star-shaped. 

“Hmmm,” I thought. “A star directed the wise men from the East to Messiah when they brought gifts for Him.”

Entranced, I got up and went over to turn off the battery. I had to see if the little “snow” pieces were physically star-shaped. But, no—just something about how they reflect light gives the glittering star-like appearance.

As the days went by, I continued puzzling over why a simple little Nativity was causing my spirit to rise in such unspeakable joy. Maybe part of it was that—although the birth of a male child in Bethlehem appeared to be an insignificant event—a great company of angels rejoiced and praised God over the eternal significance of Messiah appearing in the human form of a baby in Bethlehem on an extraordinary night long ago (Luke 2:13-14). Perhaps the sparkling and glittering lights reminded me of that celebration when the angels rejoiced. My joy was mirroring their joy over such a wondrous event when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

Although that was probably part of the reason, I knew there was more to this. But what? I looked at the Nativity carefully. Could it have anything to do with the fact that an unseen energy powers the light? Hmmm, I kept searching.

Then it occurred to me that my life is like that fleeting glitter of light—so soon gone but replaced by numerous other twinkles of joyous light. It’s not what one does by itself but the universal effect. Aha! As I’m only one thread in the tapestry the Lord is weaving with all our lives, likewise, I’m merely one of the many “sparkles” in the sea of joyous reflections. And I have no idea how my one small light or “sparkle” fits into the overall plan.

“Yes! That’s it!” I shrieked. “That’s why my soul soars in joyous rapture every time I see this. That twinkling and sparkling Nativity pictorially reminds me of who I am and my life purpose as I await the glorious return of Jesus Christ.”

Oh, that we could reflect the love of Christ to our dark world in the same way these tiny glittering bits reflect light. His love and light bring such deep joy.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, NIV)

…God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.… But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:5,7, NIV)