Christmas Lights by Chad Hess

My oldest son is three years old. He is finally old enough to really appreciate and enjoy Christmas lights, so we have taken several opportunities to drive around or walk around and look at the lights. He gets so excited, and I love watching that excitement. There is one man on our block that does a massive Christmas light display spanning several houses. He has been working on setting it up for the past month, and my son asks to drive past it every time we enter our neighborhood. An incredible amount of time and money go into doing this every year . . . so why does he do it? Why do people put so much work into decorating the outside of their houses? I see the lights on our house when I get home from work, and often that's it, but I didn't hang those lights for me. I did it for others – for all the boys and girls (and adults) that drive around in awe and excitement at all the lights.

I think that's one of the things that I like best about Christmas. It is one time of year in which we are typically more thoughtful of others. American culture is so focused on the individual and the self that we tend to lose sight of those around us, but during Christmas, our attitude is different. We give gifts to others, we hang lights for the enjoyment of others, and we do random acts of kindness for others. We remember the ultimate gift that was given to us 2000 years ago.

Now that I am an adult, I feel all the stress that also accompanies this time of year. Fortunately, my son reminds me to stop and enjoy the season. As we were out looking at lights last weekend, my son noticed a nativity scene set up in someone's yard. "Hey look, everybody! It's baby Jesus! Come look!" I pray that, in the midst of the craziness of this season, we all will find the baby in a manger, and that we will stop and look.

Chad Hess