The high for the day was 68 degrees. For those of you in California, that will be just another good day. But for those of us in the Midwest, it was an exceptional day for December. The Christmas parade sets the stage for lighting the mayor’s Christmas tree, and Santa even comes. It was about sundown when I started out to go watch the parade.

I arrived at the park while it was just dusk. This was the end of the line for the parade. There were things I thought about and things I should have thought about. I arrived at the end of the line when the parade started. That means 30 or so minutes before any part of the parade gets to you. That was my first mistake. The park was 2 or 3 blocks wide. I parked on the side away from the parade, thinking I would get out faster when it was over. It was easy to get from one side of the park to the other in daylight. It’s not so easy to do in the dark. My second mistake. Being it was 68 during the day, I didn’t check the weather forecast. How cold can it get in a couple of hours? Pretty cold as it turns out. I took a decent jacket but was unprepared for what was to come. Another mistake.

Here’s what happened to me. I walked across the park in daylight. A blustery north wind came up, making it feel very cold. I only had my light jacket. And being early, I had longer to get cold and be cold. It was a good parade, as you can see in my pictures. I didn’t make it to the end due to my hands and head being out in the wind. And in the dark, I veered to the left and took the long way back to my car in the frigid wind.

You know who wasn’t cold? The kids. They were the excited ones waiting quite impatiently. They were running around just waiting for the lights of the Christmas parade. When the parade got there, they watched with a Christmas smile on their faces. They waited for the coming of the parade and saw it all when it came with excitement and glee!

I imagine that was the excitement the shepards felt after the angels finished their song announcing Jesus’ birth. The shepards did just like kids. They ran to see. Only the shepards ran to see Jesus. The shepards knew what this meant. They were ready.

Exciting things they were. The lights of the Christmas parade and the invitation from heaven to see Jesus. All of them ran to see. It’s just how you and I should be as well. Run to see Jesus, my friend. Run to meet Him, to greet Him, and to spend time with Him. You should want to be with Jesus. Make Jesus a priority in your life. Jesus draws us all to Him. Let Him into your heart today!