Light.

I've had this thing lately with lights and stars.  It's been going on for a few years now, but it has been highlighted the last few months.  It started to become particularly obvious to me when we chose a name for our new baby girl (before we even knew she was a girl).  We've only decided to tell our immediate family her name until she is born (sorry!), but let's just say that part of her name means "light".  The funny and beautiful thing about it is that the meaning wasn't on purpose.  It was just the name we kept being drawn to.  And when I looked the name up to see what the meaning was, it was confirmed to us even more that it was to be her name.  The day we got our ultrasound to find out if she was a boy or a girl, we had the tech write the result in a card for us to open later.  As we drove down Broadway in Nashville, I happened to look up at a billboard on the side of the Frist Visual Arts Building.  Without going into a long, drawn out story, this Frist Art's Building and I have a special relationship.  Remember when I was stopped at that red light looking at the Broadway sign? It was right in front of this building.  And so, it's just one of those love taps from God that reminds me that His plan for me is good, that He has everything all lined up, and that He is always steps ahead of me--preparing a road for me that leads to adventure, fullness, and lots of Him.

So, back to the billboard.  It had this picture on it; the presentation of Christ.  Above it, the name of the exhibition was called "Divine Light".

I smiled.  I knew it was a girl.  It was just what I had secretly wanted even though I had geared myself up for a boy--just in case.  After I saw the billboard, I started begging David to open the envelope.  He wanted to wait for us to share a nice lunch together as a family, have a little ceremony, and then open it.  Let's just say, he caved.  And not even two seconds after I asked, I was ripping open that seal and unlocking the next piece to our life's puzzle.  "It's a Girl!"

I say all this to say that so often God not only uses our children's names to identify parts of their identity but also to explain what is being birthed in us.  Ella June is our "Beautiful Queen"--the female version of "Who is like God?" and this next season in our life pertains to shining lights, joyful and bright, unable to be put out, unstoppable.  This holiday season, I kept seeing it over and over as we celebrated the star the lead us to Christmas, the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah and our 8th anniversary!), and of course the bling of the New Year.

Divine Light.

As we drove home from our Ohio adventures this Christmas, I took a turn at the wheel.  I watched as the sun started to set, filling the sky with the most magnificent orange hue that slowly turned navy blue and then to deep black.  And out of nowhere, it showed up.  One bright star.  The only star I could see in my whole point of view.  And, again, a peace settled in my heart that Hope had come.

I followed this star all the way into Nashville--until I arrived in my driveway.

2011 didn't seem to be a great year for most of the people I know.  There was a lot of transition, loss, separation, and illness.  And yet, it brought forth this Light that had been hidden deep within our wells.  Sometimes we go through hardship in order to refine what is rooted so deeply that we can't see it for ourselves.  It doesn't mean it was never there to begin with, it just means that when we've lost our way, He'll send a star...guiding us back to where we know is home.

And so, this year, I look forward to seeing my little light be birthed and shine it's way onto my own life as well as onto others' lives as we venture into a divine season of Joy.  I can't wait to see all of your lights shine, too, as they weave into one another like the dance of the Aurora Borealis.

Here's a clip from Ella's library of Veggie Tales that so beautifully portrays this light--from Christmas to Easter and beyond.

Happy New Year!!

Hope's Song