in our family, christmas eve is the big day to celebrate together. everyone comes over early in the day and we catch up on what’s new, play “the dice game” to vie for presents and share an amazing feast. it’s a bittersweet point of the day when aunts, uncles and cousins start going home. as much as i want them to stay, when they start heading home, my immediate family has our time together, and that’s fun, too.
to be totally honest, tho, the tradition that pulls strongest at my heart is the midnight candlelight worship service at church. there’s just something about being in a room full of friends singing and dancing into jesus’ birthday. then at the end, the lights are turned off and one single flame is lit at either side of the sanctuary, and one by one, each candle is lit until the entire sanctuary glows. it never ceases to bring me to tears as just our voices and the candlelight are lifted up to heaven in celebration of jesus.
in order to apply for the world race, i needed to be able to let this tradition go for the year in it’s traditional sense, but not entirely. needless to say, i was really excited to carry this tradition that i love so much into this year’s christmas celebration…island style J one thing that has united our team from the beginning has been worship. aaron and danny do an amazing job at leading, and we are not afraid of singing our little hearts out.
christmas eve night was no different from a functional standpoint, but it definitely felt different. the songs just seemed richer…our voices lifted higher…the meaning struck deeper. as i glanced up from my spot in the sand, i was surprised by the impact of our gathering.
within a moment, i was transported from home to the beach we were on. first, i saw myself standing in my church at home, the soft light from thousands of candles lighting up our beautiful sanctuary. all of us standing there in our christmas best after sharing an amazing christmas feast. our surroundings are familiar – family, friends, comfortable pews, decorations – and our candles unfailingly burn bright.
then i was brought back to the beach we all shared. we sat under a star-filled sky as the waves crashed loudly behind us, and our candles flickered in the wind. we lifted our voices as we praised our Father in song and worship. our surroundings were both unfamiliar (location) and familiar (surrounded by friends who have become family), and it was a challenge to keep our candles lit. but when our flame blew out, we simply leaned to one side or the other and a friend re-lit it. when both of our flames went out, we worked together to block the wind, struck a match and re-lit both our candles.
sitting on the beach experiencing christmas the way we did this year was, in itself, life-changing. it was an honor to enter into jesus’ birthday in such a meaningful way and to share it with my world race family. what we experienced together reflected so much of what i’m learning about fully living for jesus. it is not always easy, i lean on those around me way more than i ever anticipated i’d need to (i’m learning to let go of the independent “i can do it all myself” thing), and when you invite Him in completely, He’ll surprise the heck out of ya.
