Tammy L. Priest

Calvary Baptist Church

January 4, 2012

Okay, it’s only January 4, and I already miss the lights. 

I’ve always loved Christmas lights.  Even as a young Jewish girl who had no desire to celebrate Christmas, I still loved Christmas lights.  White lights and multicolored lights.  Blinking bulbs and steady strands.  Simple lines and extravagant displays.

When I came to faith in Jesus, I was thrilled to be able to celebrate The Light while enjoying the lights.  In fact, I was baptized that December, with the whole town lit up! 

Now in my forties, I still love Christmas lights. And this year I discovered a new kind.  They are huge outdoor ornaments – the size of basketballs – that light up in a vast array of colors and patterns.  Maybe they’ve been around for awhile, but I’d never seen them before.

Until one evening, driving home from my son’s basketball game.  Seemingly suspended in mid-air, these beautiful lights literally took my breath away.

I was entranced.  I thought about those pretty ornaments all week.  I began comparing all other displays to these sparkly new lights.  None came even remotely close.

The next week, I drove by that house again.  But this time, it wasn’t at night.  And in the mid-day sun, instead of a brilliant display of sparkling orbs, all I saw was a tangled mess of ropes and extension cords.

The mystique was shattered.  The magic gone.  Behind all the beauty was an ugly mess.

As I mulled over my disappointment, it struck me that our lives are just like those ornaments.         

We may try to make people think otherwise, but our lives are a mess.  They are filled with the pain of broken relationships and broken bodies.

Yet, somehow, someway, God is able to bind up our fractures in ways that bring blessing.  Blessing for us as we walk through our brokenness with Him by our side, and blessing for others as they watch us put one persevering foot in front of the other. 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  2 Corinthians 4:6-9 NIV

The key is to not get tangled up.  To know that there is more than what we can see.  To trust that God will ultimately weave the pain and frustration and brokenness together with His marvelous light to produce the most unique and brilliant displays.

When you finally get to that place of restoration and beauty, you will not – and should not – forget the tangles that have woven you into the person you are.  And eventually, when ugly knots form again, you will be able to trust that “the One who began a good work among you will keep it growing until it is completed…” (Philippians 1:6 CJB)

In fact, without the jumbled mess of ropes and extension cords, there would have been no Christmas light to entrance me in the first place.  It’s not beauty in spite of the mess.  It is beauty because of the mess.

So don’t let the tangles of your life prevent you from shining forth – they are, in fact, what make your light shine so beautifully and so uniquely.

And another thing.  If you – like me – often look at someone else’s beautiful, shiny, perfect life and think that they must have no idea what deep pain and disappointment feels like, consider this: behind their bright smile is probably a web of scars that have woven them into the person you see today.

Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish.  In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.  Isaiah 38:17 NIV

No training seems pleasant at the time.  In fact, it seems painful.  But later on it produces a harvest of godliness and peace.  Hebrews 12:11 NIRV

Maybe 2011 was a year of messy, ugly cords for you.  Maybe you’re still tangled up.  Or perhaps God has redeemed your time of crisis, and now you are able to shine unhindered. 

Wherever you are in the midst of life’s tangles and knots, know that ultimately – whether you have a chance to see it on this side of heaven or not – God is weaving it all together to make a breathtakingly beautiful display.

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28 NRS

Prayer

Lord, as I walk through the disappointments and afflictions of this life, help me trust that You can see the light at the end.  And help me to never forget that the wounds of my past are what make me uniquely beautiful.  Amen.

© Tammy L. Priest
www.beginningwithmoses.net