Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year for many reasons. To name just a few:
listening to *NSYNC’s Christmas album
spending some quality time with family and friends
eating SO much delicious food
looking at Christmas lights
watching all the Christmas episodes of Boy Meets World
etc, etc.
I could go on, but I won’t.
With all of the exciting traditions and craziness that surround the holiday season, it often becomes easy to lose sight of the true reason we celebrate this most joyous of days: Christ, who was born to die so we can live. My favorite part of the Christmas Eve service at church is the end where everyone lights a candle and sings Silent Night. It’s pretty neat how a dark room is quickly illuminated when everyone holds up their candles. This is a great illustration of the world, full of darkness and in desperate need of a Light. For so many people, the holiday season is anything but merry and bright. Rather, it may be a time of darkness and despair, when troubles seem to magnify. And this is exactly what Christmas is about. It’s about our need for a Savior who brings light in the midst of the darkness.
As we sang Silent Night, I started thinking about the race. The whole purpose of the race is to bring the Light of Christ to some of the darkest places in the world. And next Christmas, that is exactly what I will be doing. It will be the first time I have ever been away from home during the holidays, which is a very bittersweet feeling. However, I am so excited to see how God will use me and my team to bring Hope to those who need it more than anything.
Merry Christmas!
