When I was a boy, I was enthralled by the bubble lights on our family’s Christmas tree. They were shaped like candles, with some sort of bubbling substance—alcohol perhaps—inside, boiling from the heat of the light bulb. I don’t think you can buy them any more—at least I wasn’t able to find them for over thirty years. I imagine they were probably a fire hazard.
Too bad.
I always wanted to share them with my children before they grew too old to appreciate something like that.
There are many things that only children understand. One day when my children were young, we were sitting on the edge of a slightly raised platform at church. No one else was around, so we took off our shoes and counted all our fingers and toes.
Adults understand that almost everybody has ten fingers and ten toes. But children understand the wonder of making that discovery.
Innocence. Discovery. Wonder. These are precious things.
It is no coincidence that I lingered so long by the Christmas tree when I was a child. For the only heart that is really ready to receive the Christmas Child is the heart full of wonder.
To me this is precious: that God has little time for our jaded sophistication, but has open arms for our wide-eyed wonder.
Enjoy this season of wonder and awe!
This is an excerpt from my latest book, A Beautiful Christmas. There’s a video that goes with the book that I think you’ll love. (Scroll down when you get to the page.)
