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The Parable of the Christmas Lights

12/10/2018

9 Comments

 
Picture
We've all been there. The holidays are approaching so we haul the boxes of decorations from the attic, or the basement, or wherever they have resided the bulk of the year. Maybe we turn on a Christmas CD and hum along while we heat up a cup of hot chocolate or cider or other seasonal drink. We get out the lights and try to string them out on the living room or garage floor. The difficulty of this task depends on how OCD we were the year before--carefully winding them on a spool or wadding them up in a sack or some organizing technique in between. If we are wadders, we face the gargantuan task of untangling, and we may switch from hot chocolate to a glass of wine. Just a small one.

Once they are untangled, we plug them in, one by one. They don't all light. Ever. That is a rule about Christmas lights. We get a little more wine and set about checking for empty sockets and misfunctioning bulbs. This day and age, all light sets say "If one or more bulbs burn out, others will stay lit." That is a lie. After replacing some bulbs, tightening others, and shaking the string (gently), the lights come on. Success!

The next job is to hang them. Maybe they go on a tree, or along the eaves, or above the kitchen cabinets, or along a railing. Wherever their destination, the task is usually not a piece of cake. It involves ladders, wire ties, masking tape, a good sense of balance, and greenery--artificial or otherwise. Regardless, once the lights are hung and we plug them in, voila! One section does not light. Or maybe more than one. Right in the middle. Always. Sometimes a little jiggling will remedy that situation, but then the middle of a another string goes out. More wine.

Strings of lights have become so ubiquitous that they aren't just for Christmas any more.  So even if you are of a different religious persuasion, or  none, you have still had this experience.

I bought three new strings of lights for our 9 1/2 foot tree two years ago. This year, only one string lit up completely before they went on the tree. The other two only lit halfway.

I decided I didn't care--one whole string and two halves would be enough. I strung the whole string back and forth, top to bottom. I added the other strings and wadded up the unlit sections, tucking them back into the center of the tree where they can't be seen. It wasn't the most even lighting job but looked okay. I proceeded  to hang fifty-five years of collected ornaments--more if you count the silver-painted pine cone from my grandmother's tree--and finished off with real tinsel. The aluminum kind that I carefully save from year to year, not that new plastic kind. We both approved the final look and sat down to enjoy our evening and the tree.

Two hours later, the top third of the tree went dark. That was the first string that earlier in the day lit completely before it went on the tree. The string that went on before the other two, all of the ornaments, and the tinsel. The next day, I bought another string to fill in, took the tinsel and ornaments off that part of the tree, carefully wove the new lights through the branches, and replaced the decorations. However, I am not foolish enough to believe that all of the working lights will continue to light until after New Year's.


What's the point?

This whole light fiasco can be seen as a parable for our lives. No matter how carefully we buy, store, and test our lights, some will go dark. Usually in the middle of the string. And we are faced with making do or redoing or changing our expectations. Probably all three.

This summer we made plans for the fall that included several camping trips and a grandson's wedding in Mexico. Then my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer. We jiggled those plans and replaced components, but finally had to change our expectations and cancel each plan, one by one. The treatment is going well and we are hopeful for next year. That is what is important in this moment.

We are aware that we are not alone; we know several others with serious glitches in their strings of lights. Some more serious than ours. What we are all left with is the need to enjoy and appreciate the lights when they are on.

Another lesson from the lights is that even though the tree is beautiful, there are those hidden wads of lights gone dark. Just as many of our friends and neighbors are dealing with dark spots that may not be visible in the flashily lit tree. This is the parable of the lights: Hold your loved ones close and be aware of lights gone dark.

9 Comments
Kris
12/10/2018 08:44:50 am

Sorry to hear about Butch. Hope treatment is going well. We send our love.

Reply
Andrea Christensen
12/10/2018 09:45:43 am

Yup, excellent! All across the world are loved ones who are celebrating the best they can, feeling magnificent things about the gifts received, and much love to you and family!

Reply
De
12/10/2018 10:22:47 am

So sorry to hear about your husband. God bless you and thank you for your stories 💝

Reply
LISA A KEITH link
12/10/2018 10:46:05 am

The solution to having a huge tree with many, many lights on it is to purchase a smaller tree that has fiber optic lights that when plugged in lights up and you don't have to fool with all the lights on a string where some light and some do not. I found this solution a number of years ago, and even tho my husband wasn't keen on setting it up last year, this year, we are putting it up in our north east room's window to show everyone that we, too, have at least some Christmas spirit even without any snow, so to speak. Not that it makes me as excited as I once was, but it just seems right that when Christmas rolls around that we have snow on the ground.

So sorry to hear about Butch's diagnosis. I, too, hope the treatment his physician has devised will cure him. It is so hard when cancer shows up in everyone in our general age-group. I understand why, I just wish there had been some way back in our early days where that little light had dawned on many of us that smoking will give you cancer, and you don't want that diagnosis nor what will be done to combat it's spread. My own father died from Prostate Cancer, that finally metastasized everywhere. He smoked when he was in college in the 1930s through WW 2 and into the early 50s when I was but a mere child of 4 years. He quit because of his heart problems, never thinking that further "down the road" of ife, he would be diagnosed and die from the incurable disease that they decided to just watch instead of removing it when it was found.

I just hope you and Butch & family will not have to go through as much as my dad, mom and I did & my now nearly 31 year old daughter did when she was but 6 years of age. She was there when Grandpa died, and I was not, being at the Holiday "stroll" in downtown West Liberty, November 18, 1994. I am still berating myself 24 years later. I should have been there.

Good luck to you and Butch the rest of this year and into the next of 2019. The Musser Library here in Muscatine does not have any of your books, and I have been pushing them to get them, so that you will have more fans of your books. Thanks for the memories.

Reply
Gretchen
12/11/2018 05:58:36 am

Well said, Sister. Sometimes the areas of light are more visible with darkness. Yin yang...we need both. Love you both...now, where's that new book?

Reply
Julie E Coon
12/13/2018 12:57:21 pm

What an absolutely on point comparison, Karen! Praying for the best care for Butch! I know he has the best support system. Merry Holidays to you and yours! Hugs...

Reply
Janet
1/4/2019 11:18:06 pm

Sorry about Butch,will keep in my prayers. Our trip plans for 2018 were put on hold too, many medical problems with family members that needed our help. I kept saying I wanted 2018 to be over. Now that it is 2019 and I look back, I see that I survived 2018 and I will be able to handle what 2019 gives me. Hope you and Burch have some wonderful times this year.

Reply
Teresa Morrison
5/23/2019 01:16:19 am

Miss Karen, I just discovered you tonight. How on earth is that possible. I'm sorry to hear about your husband. I hope everything is going well. I look forward to reading more of your books and sharing some of my camping stories.
My husband is from Oskaloosa but when his mom was in New Sharon in the nursing home we stayed in Pella every third weekend for over a year to take care of her needs. That became too much and we went about every 6 weeks after that until her death in 2007. That gave us one weekend off every 6th week to rest and recover. I love reading your blog because I recognize some of the places. Good night! Teresa from Wichita

Reply
Karen
6/7/2019 10:00:49 am

Thank you for your comments and thoughts. I am still working on the Pella book.Stay in touch!

Reply



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