For over 50 seasons of Christmas, I reminded each of my family members about the true Light, by giving them their own personal light. It started when my children were very young and were fascinated by flashlights. I gave each of them a pen light and the tradition began. As the years flew by, the grandchildren were also gifted with flashlights. Each year everyone wondered what the next year’s flashlight would be like.

   All flashlights are not the same and I searched all through the year for just the right one. There are some  stores where one would logically look for a flashlight and sometimes would find one there. At other times, the flashlights appeared in more unlikely places. A zoo, gas station, grocery store, museum. One year, it was a miner’s headlight, another it was a clip-on book reading light and one time, it was even a little red lantern. Each year, each flashlight was gift tagged in the same way.: “Jesus is the Light”.

   The year my three teenage grandsons made a road trip to Phoenix to see their uncle, my son clarified how valuable a flashlight can be. By that time in their lives, collectively they had received 55 flashlights, however—when they had a flat tire in the middle of a dark night, the only light source in the car was from a cell phone!

   Remind yourself that even without a flashlight, your smile can be a beacon, to show others the Joy of Christmas! God’s light truly does shine through the darkness.