We decorated our Christmas tree on the first Saturday in Dec. Of course I put the lights on it first. We had 4 new strands of lights, so I put those on first. As of today, three of the four strands has failed. Now, I'm not talking about a few bulbs that don't work. These strands have suddenly stopped working, one 100-strand at a time. Not only do they stop working, they prevent the lights "down stream" from working as well.
Since these strands were put on first, we end up with a dark tree. The first failure happened before we had ornaments on the tree. No problem. I just pulled off the problem lights and rearranged. But since then, we have had two more sets fail. I just bypass the dead strands and end up with dark sections of tree.
So, what am I learning from this? First, how to be patient. I'm now waiting, patiently, for the final strand to give up the ghost. Second, I'm learning that cheap lights are cheap. They are priced low because they are low quality. In years past we have bought cheap lights with much better success. The new strands normally last at least one season. I'll be looking for some good LED lights after Christmas. Hope I can find them. They are supposed to last longer and use less power. Sounds like a plan.
Finally I am learning to be happy anyway. Our beautiful tree now has growing dark patches. That's OK. Jesus is still the reason we decorate our home and celebrate in December. He is the real Light. He is the One who loved me enough to come to this earth. He gave his life for me on the cross.
This is news worth sharing, worth building my life around. This is good news that makes life worth living. Jesus really loves me. He really wants to be in relationship with me. He likes to be with me. Compared to that, nothing else matters.
I thank God that he helps me get the right perspective.
