Celebrating Hannakah

I celebrated Hannakah for the first time ever, on December 25. Yes, that is Christmas Day, and I have always celebrated it AS Christmas Day. This year, however, December 25 was different for me. I knew I wasn't going to have my children, and while I am blessed with many good folks in my life, any number of whom would have welcomed me into their celebration with their own family, I didn't want to spend the 25th doing "Christmas".

Instead, I spent the day with some very dear friends who are Jewish. What a neat opportunity to not only be with people I love, who helped ease the ache of not being with my daughters, but to also learn about another tradition. I heard how Hannakah came to be, as told by a child (one of the best kind of teachers!), helped light a minorah, and participated in singing traditional Hannakah songs.

I must confess however, that the absolute neatest part was getting to wear the fun Hannakah glasses! It was totally amazing! The glasses looked like the 3-D kind that you get from the movie theater, and once we all had them on, we turned out the lights and looked at the minorah candles. Where the lights were at the tip, gleamed with the Star of David! We walked to the front door and looked out upon the street, and all the lights were transformed into Stars. It was absolutely incredible. My friends are wonderful to have included me in their celebration. They even let me take a pair of the glasses home with me! I've enjoyed putting them on as I've looked for the Star of David in my home lights.

What if we could have special glasses for every day? What if we had the ability to use a special lense with which to see the light inside of others? What would we see? Would we see their "stars"? Would we see their abilities and their unique characteristics? What if we were privileged with the sight of their pain, their wounds, their fears? If we had that kind of insight, how would we treat one another? Would it make us more compassionate, more understanding, more forgiving?

As I sit here in the darkness, gazing at my own candlelight, miraculously observing the Star of David that has appeared, I am mindful of the lens with which Christ our Savior observes me. Christ can see into my soul. He sees my character. He sees who I am when no one else is looking. And amazingly, He loves me anyway! He takes away all my sin and my shame, and He sees what I may become. He sees the star power within me and He lights up my world.

My prayer for tonight is that He will touch my eyes, so that when I look at others, I will see past their outer being, see past the words that may hurt or the attitude that may hold others at arms length. May I look at them with eyes of love and compassion, and reflect to them the love of Christ.