This past Sunday (01/06-/13) I did my good deed of the day by helping an elderly person put away the Christmas decorations in her home. You might be asking yourselves "Whats the big deal behind that for you to write a post from it?" Well, not only did I helped her, I also kept her company that afternoon, and as I was driving away something hit me and brought me back to the Christmas Candlelight Service message at Del Sol on Christmas eve. The message was about seeing the light and allowing God to be the light in your world. As much sense as I got from the message that night and applied it to my own life, it didn't truly sink in until that afternoon at this lady's home.
I want to begin by telling you the living conditions this lady is under and a little story behind her. She is a divorced elder lady, a first grade teacher, one of the sweetest ones I have met and she lives in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. But the location of her home is what threw me off, she literally lives in the middle of the desert. As you are driving on Boderland road in Canutillo, the road changes from El Paso to New Mexico. At the end of the road you either have the option to go left or right, OR you can go thru a gate that leads to the desert. I mean, if you have no idea that desert road is there you would never imagine people have homes there! So here I am getting lost with no street names/signs and only following tire tracks on the dirt. I get to her home and theres is not much surrounding it but her own fence and couple trees she planted. She owns three dogs and a cat and the inside of her house is filled with treasures! She has so many vintage things that when you walk in you can just imagine the stories behind her possessions.
So I began to help her put away the decorations and it took us four hours. Her home was the most christmas interior decorated home I have ever seen. She had decorations not only in her living room and dinning room, but also her bedroom, office, kitchen and restroom. What blew my mind was the fact that she owns couple of wall decorations that have, I guess you can call it 3D houses and of course they were christmas decorated. So here I go taking the whole thing off the wall to store away and she stops me saying "oh dont take the house down, only the decorations", then she reaches over and shows me how she had placed christmas trees and wreaths on it herself. HOW CUTE! :) But what was even more amazing was her christmas tree and the ornaments. I have to say that is the most traditional tree I have ever seen as well. The ornaments on her tree were all either presents from over the years or hand made by herself or by people for her including her children. As we put away each ornament in their special designated boxes, she told me the story behind most of them. The oldest ornament dated back to 1920's and it belonged to her grandmother. All of them if not most of them contained written "The Cone's" her ex-husbands last name. I noticed that the ones with that specific writing on them meant the most to her and you could almost see thru her eyes the memories they brought back.
Let me move on to telling you that she has three children (grown up now of course) of which only one lives still in El Paso. Two times within the past two weeks she has been taken to the ER because she wasn't feeling well. According to doctors there is nothing physically wrong with her but they believe she might be going thru a depression. Therefore, as she asked for my help I didn't hesitate to jump and help her. I remembered the message that christmas eve at church saying how it is very hard for some to see the light specially during the christmas season. For some of us it is great, filled with joy and light but others are lonely and christmas turns out to be the worst time of the year.
But regardless of how this lady lives, where she lives or what happens in her life, I could tell she has a great light in her that keeps her happy and at peace even thru her depression. As we finished putting everything away from the inside, we moved to the outdoor lights and man where they lovely. You could tell the time and love she put into her decorations and I could just imagine how beautiful it must have looked all christmas season as her lights were shinning in such a dark and deserted place. We took everything off except white lights in a tree, which she said she kept up all year long for when her friends came over, so they could find her home by seeing the light. AND THATS WHEN IT HIT ME!
In the middle of the desert, in a very dark place at night there is a welcoming light, her home. But its not only enough to see her home and get to it; the amazing things and happiness happen inside her home once you step in. This is just like God Himself and as the message that christmas eve said. Everyone saw the light but only did the wise men decided to go to it. God is the light in our life, but it is not enough to only see Him and know He is there. We must invite Him in and let Him work wonders within ourselves; knowing He is there is only the beginning, we must experience his presence but we can't do that thru the outside, we must walk to Him and go inside. In some cases, like finding this lady's home, there is no clear path way to God, and in many cases the road looks scary and maybe you might have never realized it was there to begin with unless someone told you. Some of us have gone thru pretty rough and confusing roads to get to Him, but if we keep seeking we will eventually find Him. I know I did! :)
As we finished putting away the boxes that contained her decorations into the shed she said "I couldn't have done this without you, every year I put everything up and away on my own but I couldn't have do that without you this year. Thank you! I hope that next year I can have a man by my side that will help me put up the decorations with a smile and take them down the same way. But if not, could I still call you?" To that I replied "Most definitely!"
The time came for me to leave and night time was pretty much there, the place became dark, but as I drove off, thru my rear view mirror I saw her light. The tree outside her home was so shiny and so inviting, it brought a couple of tears to my eyes. I pray that God will keep being that light in her life and in her heart and may she find the company she desires during the christmas time. And if not, I pray that God allows me to keep her that company whenever she might need it. I pray that God will be the light of our lives and our hearts and that with His light I can keep seeing and walking along the path He has created for me. I pray that I make Him proud in what He has planned in my life and that the light He brings to my heart and my life never turns off and only becomes greater and shinier as I grow closer in my faith each day and as my life and heart keep growing in His love. I pray that he allows me to see the light even in the darkest places and that he allows me to bring joy to those that need it most, even if it is with my simple company and putting away a person's most important treasures.
From my notes on the Candlelight Service:
"God is light! When you push God to the side you live in darkness. There are a lot if things that can darken your world, but with Christ in your heart you can pull thru. God knows about your darkness and no matter what you do, He can never love you less... Let God become the light in your world! No matter what happens within your heart, Jesus Christ can heal it. Only God can heal a broken heart, when you feel hopeless, He can heal a broken dream. But we take the light for granted because we expect the sun to physically come up every morning, as well as the moon e very night. God's answer to your prayers is instant, all you need to do is BELIEVE & receive Christ in your heart. Its time to open the present and receive it all, that God has chosen to LOVE YOU!" (12/24/12)
"Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is Himself God. He created everything. Eternal life is in Him and this life gives LIGHT to all mankind. HIS LIFE IS THE LIGHT THAT SHINES THROUGH THE DARKNESS - and the darkness can never extinguish it." - John 1:1-15 (LB)
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