The Joy of Light by Lisa Kopala and Caylor Kopala Morris

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world…

(John 3:19 NIV)

One of my most precious memories of Christmas as a child was spending the weekend at my grandparents’ home every year. Yes, their tiny living room was filled with gifts from one end to the other for my brothers and me, but it was something else that always made my heart glad.

Standing in front of a freshly cut Balsam tree, I was mesmerized by the bubble lights that decorated the branches and made the tree so peaceful. When the daylight hours grew dim, my grandparents would lower all the lights in the room, and I would stand in awe as the tree glowed with a special radiance as we sang Christmas hymns.

Each December, we celebrate the Light that has come into the world. God gave this Light to a world filled with darkness to bring hope to the despairing, peace to the troubled soul, and joy to the disheartened. God asks each of us to spread this Light to others with love and kindness, lifting them from shadows of darkness, as we cherish the greatest Gift ever given to humanity.

As a child, I never knew what made those tiny bubbles rise to the top of the glass tube, but it didn’t matter. I just looked forward to seeing the light they would cast on my grandparents’ tree each year. So many years later there is a different Light that gladdens my heart and makes me stand in reverence and awe — The Light of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lisa Kopala and Caylor Kopala Morris

John 3:16–21

Janet Hill