Three weeks after the 4 Gifts of Christmas activity, my husband and I had another big event to prepare for.
We were in charge of the Christmas party for our church congregation.
That night in October when we were asked to take on this year’s Christmas party, I couldn’t sleep. I had way too much going on in my head. I knew sleep would be impossible until I’d written down at least some of my thoughts. The ideas kept flowing until after 1:00 in the morning. I had 3 new pages in my journal when I stopped.
Light in Every Dispensation
The focus of the Christmas party would be Christ and His birth, but I also wanted to bring to light what that meant for each one of us individually now, as well as in each dispensation of time.
So, that’s the idea we went with. We titled our program, “Light in Every Dispensation.” A download of our program can be found at the end of this post.
Our Committee
We were blessed to have a wonderful committee to work with. Everyone had a part to play. The main course of turkey and mashed potatoes was already ordered. One sister volunteered to make centerpieces. Another said she’d be willing to make posters for the program. A couple offered to advertise and shared an idea for a special “Change a Life” fundraiser to assist a family in our neighborhood.
Our Contribution
The main thing my husband and I were in charge of was the program itself. That was no small task. It involved getting in touch with friends who had built a stable the previous year, organizing a time for its relocation and set-up, finding and picking up a manger, writing a script, inviting a family to play the roles of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, figuring out costumes and speakers and praying…lots of praying that things would work out and the spirit would be there.
When we decided to have a Nativity, I knew right away who to ask to participate as the Holy Family. A young couple in our congregation had been blessed to welcome a precious baby boy to their family only a couple months previous. When I shared my idea with them, they were thrilled!
The week of the Christmas party arrived.
The centerpieces were almost complete, the costumes and posters were ready to go, reminders had been sent out for side dishes, we had decorations lined up… pretty much all that was left to do was finish writing the script for our program.
As part of our preparation, we’d looked up scriptures that contained or referenced light from each canon of scripture until we had 7 scriptures highlighting the 7 dispensations. It was coming together well, but it lacked depth and meaning. The message we hoped to share was not shining through.
A special gift of light
The morning of the Christmas party, I received a personal revelation to my heart and mind. I finally knew how to invite everyone to share their light with the world and by so doing, give a gift to the King of Kings.
This idea involved the centerpieces, so I hurriedly reached out to my friend who had dedicated so much time to them. I needed to see if she would be alright with people carrying her beautiful creations to another area of the building.
Those centerpieces made the culminating portion of the evening perfect.
At the close of the program, everyone was invited to take a mason jar from the tables and carefully present it at the stable where Mary and Joseph were watching over the sweet baby Jesus.
I left the interpretation of this gift up to each individual. I hope the spirit bore a personal witness to each heart how to light the world in their own way. A small symbol of our gratitude for the blessing of His life and light.
