Today we celebrate the birth of Christ – God sending his son to light up a dark world, to bring love and hope to the broken. And with Christ by our side and in our hearts, we, too, can be a light in our families, to our friends, and to our community. I am blessed with family and friends who provide me with limitless sources of inspiration – people who live their lives generously, graciously, humbly, and with great love.

But today, on Christmas morning, I realized that perhaps my greatest source of inspiration is my seven-year-old daughter. We named her Lucy mostly because we just liked it, and I kind of liked that the origin of the name means “light.” It seemed like a happy, positive name. I had no idea that she would grow up with a light inside of her that is brighter than the sun.

Lucy’s handmade gifts were exceptionally thoughtful this year. She drew a picture of the two of us, and wrote an extensive love letter to my husband and I, where she wrote “You give me so much that I am giving you the love that you give to me and I’m giving you back some of it to you.” She also (completely her idea), gave her grandparents (who are not believers) a handmade cross that she made out of ribbon and tape.

Lucy loves with reckless abandon. She forgives abundantly and instantly. Lucy never lies, even when telling the truth is hard. And she freely shares the good news of Jesus without worrying about what people might think.

These are things that are simple and that come naturally to her, yet it can be so hard for adults to live with the same freedom to love. Somehow as we grow up, we manage to lose our way and make things more complicated than they need to be.

I am reminded of Matthew 18:3 when Christ said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

I hope I can find my way back to loving, forgiving, speaking the truth, and sharing the joy of Jesus like Lucy does.

She did not learn any of this from me. Her way of love comes from the light within.