November 30, 2020

photo credit: Anita Flowers

Monday, November 30, 2020

 “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

                                                 -Desmond Tutu

 Christmas is my favourite time of the year, it always has been. My sister and I get that from our mother. I remember being so excited when she pulled the boxes of Christmas decorations out of storage and had us help her decorate every room in the house.

We loved all of the decorations. No matter how old or tattered they got from all of the Christmases they had seen, they seemed brand new again every year when we took them out. I still feel that way. Once we were done decorating and putting up lights, and had finished the tree, we would turn off the main lights, and sit quietly in the soft glow of the Christmas lights. In that moment, I felt many things and thought many things, one being hopeful. Hopeful that I had been good all year, you know… Santa! But also the hope that the warmth and fullness that I was feeling at that moment could last forever.

Now that I have children, I see the same excitement on their faces when I bring out all of our Christmas decorations. I am typically an early Christmas decorator, but after the year the world has had, I decided that we needed the hope and cheer of Christmas a little early in our house. And I know many others had the same thought this year and started to decorate their homes early as well. It made me think, how great is it that the hope of Christmas, Jesus’ birthday, is what is uniting so many after a year of what seems like the world falling apart. Jesus is hope. He had hope for the world, and he continues to show us to have hope for the world and for each other.

 My wish for Christmas this year is that everyone feels the excitement of a child unboxing Christmas decorations in their hearts. And that you feel the warmth, fullness, and hope that you get from sitting quietly, watching the Christmas lights, and knowing that Jesus is there wrapping his light around you.

 Prayer: God, in a world where people hope for so much, please show us to have hope in our hearts for you, for all the beauties of this world you have created, and for each other.

 Kalee Cudmore is a wife, mom, and Cosmetologist. She loves to spend time with family, read, and draw.