Today is Christmas Eve and normally I would be spending it going crazy making sure all was ready for worship services tonight. At this point in the week I would already have worked 40 hours, with 16 more today. So when people ask me if I am missing my church, I can honestly say no. I miss some of the wonderful people. I miss sharing Christmas Eve with them. But I am not missing the stresses at this time of year of being a pastor.
My mom has been concerned that I would be depressed, so she made sure that I could participate in a worship service tonight. I am playing a couple of cello pieces with her on the piano at the Lexington Church of the Cross. I am also singing alto in the choir. Thanks Mom, for worrying about me.
For the first time I am having an absolutely relaxed Christmas. There has been plenty to do but I haven’t had any Christmas stuff to do this week. I am looking forward to worshiping tonight and not being in charge.
Last night, as part of our Christmas celebration, Tom and I went to the Fantasy of Lights. The Fantasy of Lights is a spectacular Christmas light show that rivals anything else we have ever seen and it is right here at Alum Creek State Park and Cross Creek Campground. We saw pieces of it just driving in to our campsite and we have seen the lights shining as we drive across Alum Creek Reservoir on Cheshire Road in the evenings. We waited to see it in full because we wanted to go with John and Jackie but we ran out of evenings with them.
So last night we finally got in line, paid our money, and drove through the fabulous display. We have seen thousands of cars driving through the display over the last month and all those carloads of people were right. The display was absolutely worth the $15 entrance fee. The displays ranged from 5 feet tall to 25 feet. There were animated displays, whimsical displays, and faith-filled displays. Some displays were sponsored by companies, such as the ski jump sponsored by a personal injury lawyer! Tom and I went to Oglebay WV years ago and this display was much better than that one.
The evening was very mild, so I opened the window and leaned way out to take pictures. The pictures aren’t great and it is hard to tell the scale of the lights but they give you some idea of how wonderful the Fantasy of Lights was.
The Fantasy of Lights is open through January 4 so you still have time to see it. Part of the proceeds go to the non-profit group Recreation Unlimited. We have enjoyed the lights and all the people looking at them every evening this month. The Fantasy of Lights has added to our enjoyment of this Christmas season.
Have a wonderful, Christ-filled, joyous Christmas.
