Light

Putting away Christmas decor is bitter sweet. The fragrant scent of the evergreen fronds I used to embellish arrangements is gone, the branches dead and needles falling. I eagerly collected them weeks ago and relished the piney scent. It is Christmas Past.

The "Merry Christmas" pillow from the sofa is stored away, as is the NOEL pillow from last year.  I'm leaving up all my tiny white lights, though. They edge the tray in front of a mirror over an antiqued stand, glow brightly twined on white branches nestled in a tall urn, and highlight the display of beloved portraits and collections seen through the glass of yet another antique cabinet.

A Christmas memento that I cherish is a beautiful pitcher bought on a trip from Oklahoma to Georgia before we moved from the Sooner state. The pitcher with the graceful words, "Merry Christmas," scrolled across it also has a depiction of a red cardinal in one area and a poinsettia at the bottom of the pitcher. One reason I love it so much is that it reminds me of the cardinals that lit up the cold, winter days, perching on the rail fence of the farm or swooping through the branches of the leafless trees.

Keeping my priceless Christmas cards from far away family, especially the ones with photo groups and one newly-wed bride and groom at their ceremony, I find it hard to part with any. I think I will save one of the most beautiful, a sleigh in the glittering snow in a farm scene.

We love Christmas lights, remembering that Jesus is the Light of the world! John 1:7, says of John: "The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (8)He was not that Light,  but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (9)That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

John 8:12: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

It is a cold, dark, rainy day, here, the second day of our new year, 2020, but we have the assurance of our Savior, Jesus, who is the Light of the World on any dark day!