There is nothing better than driving home late at night and seeing Christmas lights. This is the time of year that the back windows of my truck are covered in smudges from Max and Charlie pressed against the glass looking at all of the beautiful lights lining houses. It got me thinking about why people put up Christmas lights.
What’s really amazing is when you are driving down a lonely gravel road in the middle of nowhere and see a house covered top to bottom with colorful glowing lights and a big fat Santa with reindeer scattered all over the yard.
What possesses someone to spend countless hours stapling light strands, tripping over extension cords and dragging out all of those wonderful plastic joy-filled statues on a gravel road that maybe 10 people travel on a day?
When I see one of those houses out in the country, shining like a beacon in the night, I believe they are trying to give us a little bit of hope.
Hope of better days ahead. Hope for a safe family. Sometimes hope for something as little as a hot meal or enough gas to get into town. Whatever it is, whenever it is, those twinkling lights remind me that no matter where I am, someone is out there wishing me the best.
Electric cooperatives are committed to spreading hope as well. This is the time of year you will probably see many co-ops organizing food drives, ringing bells for the Salvation Army or one of the co-op bucket trucks hanging Christmas lights at a local church. For them, this is part of serving their community, friends and neighbors.
As we wrap up this year, I would ask each of you to do your part to give out a little hope. Whether it’s putting out the biggest Christmas display on the block, adopting a family to make sure a child gets visited by Santa or stopping by your local church or food bank to make sure someone has a Christmas dinner — it’s the little things that count the most.
We are all blessed to live in a great country with wonderful family, friends and neighbors. That is what gives me hope, and I hope you will join me this year in spreading it.