Beautiful December brings with it balmy breezes, bright sunlit days, an occasional tropical rain shower, and a season of festivities for us all – at least this is our experience here on Guam.  Sometimes in the midst of our perpetual warmth here on our island, we forget that many of our friends and family members may already be shoveling snow and scraping ice.  To them, the end of year festivities may bring a little warmth into some chilly lives.  But whether we live in warm climes or cold, the holidays always seem to center on a desire within the human spirit to be freed from the gloominess and darkness of winter, and to focus on new opportunities which lie a few short weeks in the future.  In the shortened daylight hours of December many people look forward to the joy and freedom the springtime may bring.

     Interestingly enough, the religious activities in this time acknowledge just such a yearning.  Ancient rituals focused on burning Yule logs as sources of light in the darkness, and on the evergreen tree as a reminder of the power of life even in winter’s dormancy.  Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, celebrates God miraculous gift of light to the Maccabeans who were leading Israel in dark times.  Through their perseverance in leadership, God blessed Israel with a season of freedom from oppression. Christianity sees a little child as the source of light and hope in a darkened world, and celebrates his birth in the midst of winter.  Through these and other rituals it seems apparent that humans long for the return of the light and that many of us seek this light in our relationships with God.

     Turning to God is always an appropriate remedy for the needs in our lives.  The Christian Scriptures describe God as light and they declare, “. . . in him is no darkness at all.”  (1 John 1:5)  These same Scriptures also encourage us to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [that you need] will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)  How comforting to know that there truly is a God who desires to be our friend, who is shining brightly in a darkened world, and who does not hide from us, but rather, implores us to seek him.