For me, Christmas light shines brighter each year; and it is so important to every aspect of my life as I move on from this annualized celebration and illumination into the cold and sometimes dark realities of a new year, 2025.

I am simply pausing for light—to soak in it, see it in reality and see it in faith, absorb it, reflect it, and become like it. With joy, I carry this light within.

The mystery of light is common and mystical at once. Scientifically it is a miraculous white shaft, but also filled with a rainbow of color. It has both stumped and delighted scientists for centuries.

Light, not has, but IS the wow factor! Constructed of fragments and ripples, it is remarkable and captivating. And light mixed with earth and water produces life! Light speeds faster than anything throughout our universe. Mankind has been running after it since the beginning of time.

So I’m pondering light with new eyes this Christmas knowing God calls us to live as children of light (Eph. 5:8). He wants us to live in such a way that we can light and brighten dark spaces and strengthen the world to grow up into Him, who has call us to be children of light. The light in me has the power to cause others to flourish and mature. We are light to the world and our goal is to bring about goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Although December marks the beginning of winter and a gray and barren season–in contrasting parallel, it is also the month of light. For that reason, it is hard to lose a loved one or friend during Christmastide.

Both of Wayne’s parents passed away in December–and actually on the same day–the 16th. I remember moving through those seasons of loss, years apart, and feeling like the illumination of the usually bright holiday had temporarily dimmed.

That is the inevitable work of grief. It is a necessary sorrow, and we should not fear or shorten its work of healing in our lives as we pass through this shadow.

Still, believers do not grieve as the world. We sorrow with godly hope because we are prepared for heaven and a new life. The cross of Jesus takes the sting out of death as scripture encourages.

Yesterday Wayne and I attended the memorial of a very dear friend. The service and testimonies of this ordinary man that lived an extraordinary spiritual life of prayer because of Jesus, became illuminated with light and joy. I could not physically witness the light of God, but I felt it almost tangibly wafting among us as Jesus was glorified in those precious moments of remembering our departed friend.

When I left, the words that came to mind were incandescent grief or incandescent sorrow.

Generally incandescent is linked with joy or light or wit or creative gifting. It means extraordinarily illumininated, almost glowing.

This memory moment or pause to honor our friend’s life was an example of how differently we who know the Lord sorrow or grieve after death.

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

This incandescent grief was clean and pure and yes, painful-as-all-get-out, yet full of extraordinary, divine, streaming light from above. Jesus was there. He was seen and glorified. His light filled our gathering. Yes, incandescent grief. 

God did a good thing in our midst. In our sorrow, we honored a man and worshipped his Redeemer. The veil between earth and heaven became thin and fragile, breaking open a bit here and there. In those cracks, light poured down upon our grief; and it became incandescent. We mourned and wept with hope; and through our tears, we saw some bits of the ethereal, golden light of eternity shining through our pain.

“For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Eph. 5:9).

This scripture spoke to me anew today. “The fruit of light—this Christmas light pouring out news of His birth and the glories of hope and new life—is meant to produce goodness, righteousness, and truth.” This light which is Jesus himself has prepared me perfectly for whatever waits 2025!

(Painting by Jewel Maria James)

Bonnie Saul Wilks