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Today, I would like to share a true story that happened to me many years ago.
Author of the article:
Kim Cooper • Special to Postmedia Network
Published Dec 18, 2024 • 2 minute read
This image of a Christmas Star is similar to one seen by Kim Cooper and his friends near Erieau back in 1972. (Getty Images)Article content
In my column, I try to highlight important areas of agriculture and how they affect our daily lives.
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Today, I would like to share a true story that happened to me many years ago. I trust this story, which I bring each year at this time, will add a special meaning to your Christmas celebration.
It was Christmas Eve 1972. Four good friends and I were on a mission.
We had decided that after our Christmas Eve service at Victoria Avenue United Church in Chatham, we would go in search of the star of Bethlehem.
We left Chatham into the stillness and darkness of Christmas Eve. The silhouette of our car flashed across the roads and ditches of the countryside as the hours passed.
We travelled many kilometres that night, just as the wise men did following this same star. Our eyes scanned the cloudy skies, hoping for a westerly wind to move the cloud cover.
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The hours flew by, and with them, our hope to see the star.
Each one of us felt so discouraged on this seemingly lost mission. We reluctantly decided to head back home. Five hours of driving, searching, and seeking, but no star.
What a waste of a night. On that last stretch of road leading from Erieau to Chatham, we happened to take one last look at the southern sky.
There it was, the star. Perhaps the one that shone over Bethlehem to announce the birth of Jesus, the Christian Messiah.
We stopped the car and the five of us scrambled out to look at this incredible sight. It was the largest star we had ever seen and seemed to fill the entire sky with its brightness. The same star we had read about since we were young children had become a shining reality. We stood there, motionless, speechless, in awe, staring up into the stillness and silence of that night. I imagined what it would have been like to be a witness to this amazing sight 2,000 years ago.
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Never before had I experienced such an awareness of God’s peace and presence. The same light which ushered in the earthly presence of Jesus so many years ago was again shining to declare the glory and majesty of God. On behalf of my wife, Jill and myself, and our entire family, we pray you and your loved ones will experience this Christmas season with thankfulness and a renewed sense of hope and joy. May you find the true meaning of Christmas, not in the gifts this world has to offer, but in the amazing gift from God, who gave Jesus Christ as an everlasting love gift for each and every one of us to receive.
Kim Cooper has been involved in the agribusiness sector for more than 45 years. He can be reached at kim.e.cooper@gmail.com
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