Thinking about my childhood Christmases is like slipping into a warm coat. I’m immediately met with comforting nostalgia. I had parents who went full throttle on decorating and the snowy mountains outside our home created a backdrop that felt like a wintry wonderland postcard. 

One memory I remember very clearly was my father’s dedication to decorating our home with lights. He often liked to go full Griswold, a bright, beautiful scene to behold when his work was completed. 

But before we could stand back and appreciate his hours of toil, our Deck the Halls was often brought to a screeching halt during a much hated, albeit required, ceremony – the light test. You see, I was a child of the 80s, and back then, Christmas lights were wired in series which meant that the electrical current had to pass through each bulb on the strand. 

If a bulb went out, became loose, or broke, that meant the entire strand went dark. 

Every year, there was always at least one strand determined to be on the naughty list, requiring us to test each individual glass bulb, one-by-one, to find out where the issue was. 

Fa-la-la-la-humbug!

Rather than tossing the whole strand out and purchasing a new one, my father would patiently check each bulb. After all, the only thing worse than spending that time in annoyance was to skip that step, hastily throw the lights up on the house, then be met with the silent, drafty darkness when we plugged them in. 

As I thought back on this particular memory, I couldn’t help but draw the connection to our spiritual lives. With light strands, the issue isn’t always obvious. All it takes is one tiny, unassuming bulb to cause everything to go dark. Isn’t that true in our spiritual lives as well? Sometimes an area of unchecked sin, bitterness, anger, or distraction is all it takes to wreak havoc on our spiritual lives, thus overflowing into the physical world around us. 

It would do our spirits, souls, and bodies good to perform regular “heart checks” to keep God’s light flowing through us. So my challenge to you today is even in the busyness of the holiday season, dedicate quiet time each week to invite God to examine your heart and point out any “bulb” that might need adjusting. He is faithful to do it.

And one final thought: Just like my dad didn’t throw out a strand just because of one bulb, when we have a dead “bulb,” aren’t you grateful your heavenly Father doesn’t discard you altogether? If we are willing, He patiently rewires and redeems us so His full glory can shine through.