Have you all seen the video of the little girl with autism singing “Hallelujah?”
I don’t normally like the Christmas version so much. I find the original to be so brilliant that any alteration thereof is a bit distasteful to me.
But still, it was making the rounds, and I was busy procrastinating, so I figured I would give it a listen. And it gave me chills and tears and all of the happy feelings.
Here was a very young girl who the world will sometimes dismiss as having less to offer, shining a light so bright that it’s blinding, her power so much stronger than her years should allow.
And to me, it seemed the perfect metaphor for Christmas, the time when a baby came poor into the world. The baby that the world would have very happily written off. The baby who turned out to be the Creator and the Redeemer and the Lord of all. His light shown despite the humble exterior.
How often do we all feel small or ineffectual or like we simply aren’t enough? How often do we avoid opportunities because we don’t feel we are worthy of them? How often do we make ourselves smaller so as not to appear the fool?
Well I think Christmas should teach us to throw that all away. We are so much more than we believe ourselves to be. We are so much more than the world wants us to be. The greatest gift given to the world came in the form of a helpless baby. A gift to be unwrapped as the years went on. We too are gifts. And we too, when allowing ourselves to unfold, can bring treasures innumerable to those around us.
Our light, when allowed to shine, can be absolutely blinding.
So go out and have yourselves a Merry Christmas. Hug your loved ones. Kiss the babies. Be Santa for the world. And remember, the Light of the world came in the most humble of packages. You have no excuse not to shine yours.
https://youtu.be/gfAwXDWThlo