"Here in a Flash"
Author Unknown


They lived in a modest house about eighty years old. It had been her husband's parents' home. He had lived in it as a child. It was a tiny house but unique and quaint. This being their first Christmas in a house, they decorated the porch with many lights. There were two little pillars holding up the porch roof and her husband wrapped them in lights like candy canes. They could never really figure out why that little house was so extremely beautiful with it's Christmas decorations up, it just was. They were just normal twinkle lights around the windows and the eves, but Jesus had kissed that house and it was so pretty.

Their tree shown bright in the window, again, just a modest tree, but somehow so much more attractive than it had reason to be, if you really looked at it. So she thought it must just be her opinion. She puzzled at this one night as she sat in the front room on an old wooden chair. The room was too small to hold a normal size sofa so they had a desk and hutch in that room to use it as a den and their tree so it could be seen from the street.

Her husband had mentioned on a few occasions a young man that would walk down the street to the bus stop. He was handicapped. He described how difficult it was for him to get where he was going and how determined he seemed. She had never seen him and was ashamed to admit, never gave it much thought.

As her husband worked at night and she was alone, she often found herself sitting on that old desk chair looking at the Christmas tree. All the lights in the house were out except the twinkling lights of their holiday season when she noticed someone was walking down the street. She looked in wonder as she tried to figure out what he was doing. Her mind went through a myriad of explanations for his behavior. At first she thought he had been drinking, as he seemed a bit unsteady, this person ambling toward her house on the other side of the narrow street. His arms flayed back and forth, his legs in unsure motion.

She thought to turn off the Christmas lights so she could gain a better look, but didn't. Then he seemed to throw himself to his knees. The property just across from them was a church with a small yard. She thought my goodness; he is very stressed out and is fallen in the churchyard to pray. She again thought to turn off the lights so she could gain greater access to the window, unnoticed and further survey this unfolding sight... but again for some reason she didn't, even though she still looked out the window.

Then, with great effort, he raised himself and began to approach the curb facing her home. It had not occurred to her who this person was or what his situation might be. She still believed him to be in great stress or perhaps drinking?

Now he was standing on the curb looking at her house. She ducked behind the tree, peeking around the branches. My goodness why is he focusing on my house? What is this person doing? Her hand reached for the light plug, but she pulled it back. Now he reached in his pocket and removed something. What is it? He fell again to his knees.

What is his problem? What is he doing? She thought of how painful that must be on his knees and why he was engaging in this self-torture. He then took the object and swung it around a couple of times and, with seemingly great effort, raised the object to his face pointing it toward the house. She stared intently does he have a gun? Her mind raced. Is he going to... then before she could process another thought, FLASH! a light bulb went off.

He was trying to take a picture of her modest little home. Her heart sank, as she watched him twist to regain his stance and make his way back down the road. She finally made the connection and realized he was the person her husband had mentioned. Tears came to her eyes when she thought of how horrible it would have been if she had turned off the lights after he went though such effort. She would have never known what he was doing and just thought him strange.

She never met the person who agreed that her house had indeed been kissed by Jesus, but she learned more from him than she thinks she could express with words. The most profound is the fact that our Savior will come in a flash. How many will he find on their knees? How horrible it would be if we have turned off our lights, our hearts, after he went through such effort. We would never know what beautiful things he's doing.

Is that the reason for so many flashing lights at Christmas time?
To remind us?

Though she never saw him again, she knows she will, for she believes anyone with that much spunk surely knows the Lord. Yes, she'll see him again in the place where we won't have to struggle any more just to get the simplest of things done. Where God will wipe away all tears and everything will be kissed by God and as pretty as that little house.