So today has been declared, “put up the Christmas lights” day.  No one has put any pressure on me to do it today; it’s just time to get them up.

I’ve seen the Christmas lights on many houses for the last week or so, but I’m not one to start burning through the electricity all that early in the season.

My neighbour is pretty smart. He waits for the warmest day in November and gets them up even if he doesn’t turn them on for another couple of weeks. His lights have been on for the last week and every time I drive into our court, they stare at me, goading me into playing Russian roulette with the weather.

And that’s what I usually do. I see my neighbour out there getting his lights up, wearing a light sweater or jacket … but I like to take my chances.

Sometimes it doesn’t work out well for me – I’ve put my lights up when the snow’s been flying and it’s frosty on the hands. There were times I’ve even had to wear a winter jacket and hat.

If you know me, I don’t wear hats all that much. The only time you’ll see me wearing a toque is on a ski hill, or tobogganing, or losing at weather Russian roulette putting up my Christmas lights.

It doesn’t take me too long because I’ve figured out a system and I have the right clips to make it all work. … However, it used to be a problem.

For many years the light manufacturers weren’t meeting their profit margins, so every year it seemed they would change up the clips to attach the lights to your eavestrough or roof shingles.

When I would go to put up my lights, I would invariably be short a couple of clips. So off I’d go to Canadian Tire, only to find they didn’t make those clips anymore. I had to replace them all with a new clip system.

The light people must be doing alright now because I haven’t had to overhaul my light clips in several years.

One thing I miss though is the help. Years ago, before my daughter, Karlie, left home, she would help me. It made the job a little nicer; it was something we looked forward to each year.

I tried to get my son, Mike, to help when Karlie moved away, but he never had much interest. I think he figured one day he’d be doing it for the rest of his life, so he was in no hurry to get started.

The great thing about putting up the lights today is that I won the weather game this year. It’s a mild day out there; no need for gloves.

Here’s the thing: In Ecclesiastes it says there is a time for everything, like a time to reap and a time to sow. The thing is you have to do whatever it is at the right time. If you don’t do it at the right time it will be harder or impossible for you. It works the same way with God. There is a right time to give yourself to God, and if you miss the right time, it’s not just harder, it’s impossible to give yourself to Him. The good thing is the time is now and we don’t know when it will end. The smart play is to give yourself to Him now – today. Get it done. Don’t play Russian roulette with God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you put off that you should just get done? Leave your comment below.