By the Dashboard
Lights
12/20/2007
by David Friedli
Waiting and Watching for a Miracle
In his song, “Miracle”, folk singer David Wilcox speculates on those
who saw the Wise Men pass by on their way to find the Christ child revealed to
them through the Star of Bethlehem:
“The journey was a long one, so
the story’s told,
These three guys walking side by
side,
With their incense and their gold.
People all along the highway, they
just shook their heads,
They looked hard at the distant
star,
And went back to bed.
It seems lots of folks who are searching for something from life suffer
from one of two problems: either they
aren’t willing to pay the price to get what is valuable, or they don’t realize
the sign pointing to what is valuable even when it is right in front of them.
I haven’t spent my life waiting for a miracle like the Jewish nation
did for hundreds of years. I am fortunate that my childhood was filled instead
with experiences in which I learned to see the signs around me that pointed to
God’s love through Jesus Christ.
At the Christmas celebration in my family, there has always been
presents and Santa Claus, but Christ’s birth has always taken center stage.
Candlelight service at church with all the family, the singing of hymns as well
as Christmas carols, the reading of the Christmas story by a family member and
the precious, irreplaceable time with family are signs that pointed me toward
the real—the valuable and true—meaning of Christmas.
“The star was dim and distant for
those who stayed at home