I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to spend Thanksgiving vacation this year. I love the holiday, the chance to focus on remembering and of course the food, but I was unsure about travel plans. And then I got the brilliant idea to fly up to Alaska and see the Northern Lights.

Viewing that phenomenon has been on my “bucket list” for a long time. Their proper name is “aurora borealis.” Those bright, mysterious dancing lights are actually a bunch of charged particles that are blown around by solar wind.

They are up in the upper atmosphere near the magnetic poles. They are best seen from September through March and Fairbanks, Alaska is a great viewing spot. Thus my spontaneous desire to jump on a plane and head north.

I love to travel. There is something special about the learning that takes place as we move from location to location.

The writer Annie Dillard writes, “If you want to see the stars, you have to go outside.” And she is right. But the latter part of that quote grabbed my attention. She said that those stars (or the northern lights) don’t demand our presence. “They will shine anyway. But if you want to see them, you have to move.”

Sheila Walsh expands on that thought with this remark, “It is the same with God’s presence. He shines anyway, but we are changed by being in His presence.”

Bottom line, if we want to enjoy the pleasures of a deep and abiding relationship with Christ, we have to “move” to where He is. We can’t keep our same old routines that are filled with selfish ambitions and self-absorbing activities and expect to enjoy His peace.

We have to move. We have to change our direction and set a new course. We need to echo the words of Peter (Mark 10:28), “…Behold, we have left everything and followed you.”

The holiday season naturally gives us a bit of a pause to consider Christ. So this week, let’s keep remembering what He has done for us. Let’s keep thinking about His plans for our lives. Let’s keep moving in His direction.

Who knows, maybe the northern lights will shine in Southern California this year.