Shine a Light

One of the first big purchases that Alyssa and I made as a married couple was an artificial

Christmas tree. I remember going to Wal-Mart on Touhy Avenue in Skokie, Illinois, a suburb of

Chicago. Our Christmas tree from the year before, a four-footer, was not going to cut it,

especially as our cats, Chocolate and Chubbs, loved knocking it down and breaking ornaments.

So, we bought a beautiful artificial tree that cost nearly $200, which was a lot, considering I was

going to graduate school and we only had one part-time job between us. But it was our tree now.

And we loved it. Over the years, we have had to replace the tree’s lights, as they burned out. But

December 2025 was the ninth Christmas for our tree.

I talk about our tree because a few years into our marriage we began to leave the tree up longer and longer after Christmas. Probably past what most people would consider sensible. And now, we leave it up until St. Patrick’s Day. Winter is a dark season. Our Christmas tree has become our “winter tree,” offering light and joy throughout winter. We are grateful for its radiance.

As we head into the new year, I encourage all of us to ponder how we can be a source of light and love in our world, providing a warm glow. There is much in our world that is broken, but there is much in our world that is good, too. And we can all ask God to move through us to be people that shine a light in the darkest night. And hopefully, you can find places and spaces to warm up, too, as sometimes we are the ones who need to simply sit in the light.

There are many opportunities at our church this month to connect with others whether through worship, our Community Game Night on January 28th, the Scouts’ Spaghetti Lunch on January 18th, Bible studies, youth group, and other occasions. I hope that you connect with others and discover God’s light shining brightly through the community made among us.

God’s peace be with you,

Pastor Jordan Louks