Looking for the Light

I spent some time this week arranging things in my office at church. (Thank you again to everyone who helped move everything out and back in again!) The new carpet looks great, and it was good to rediscover some things and get rid of a few things too.

One of the things I rediscovered was a post-it note on my desk with a quote from Peter on it. “Watch for the light, Mommy. Follow the light.” The quote was from a camping trip up north a few years ago, my first more-than-one-night camping trip with Jay and the kids since the girls were toddlers. Peter and I were on our way to the bathrooms to brush our teeth before bed, and he was sweetly earnest about making sure I got there and back again safely with my flashlight. “Watch for the light, Mommy. Follow the light.”

We’ve been singing a couple of songs about light at our house these mornings—one as a ‘wake up’ song when we get the kids up for school, another as Bri and I pray with Teach Us to Pray, both from Lift Up Your Hearts.

The ‘wake up’ song is #102 (often this is greeted with “Mom! Why are singing that song?!”):

Arise, your light is come!

The Spirit’s call obey;

show forth the glory of your God

which shines on you today.

 

And the other is the chorus of #100:

 

We’ll walk in the light, beautiful light.

Come where the dewdrops of mercy shine bright.

Oh, shine all around us by day and by night.

Jesus, the light of the world.

 

I was walking with a friend this morning who observed that one of the things about walking in the winter is that you’re almost always looking down to pay attention to the ice and snow underfoot, and how you have to be deliberate about looking up to see the beauty around you.

Photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels

We also talked about how these days, whenever the sun peaks through the clouds enough to be seen on our kitchen floors, we summon whoever is home at the time to come and look and see it.

 

Earlier this fall, when Bri and I were praying with Teach Us to Pray, one of the readings was from the 10 plagues in Exodus, and one of the questions was ‘I wonder what deep darkness feels like?’ And we talked about how living right now, in the midst of pandemic and racial injustice, with so much fear and uncertainty, might be what deep darkness feels like.

 

I know that God is present in the darkness as well as in the light. I know that new life begins in the dark. And at the same time, my prayer this week is to notice ‘the dewdrops of mercy’ shining bright each day – the sparkle on snow, the laughter at home, the kind words of a friend, the sun breaking through - to watch for the light, to be deliberate about looking up to see the beauty around me.

 

And I’m reminded of this blessing from the Iona Community:

 

May God bless you.

May God keep you ever with great care

and lead your lives with love.

May Christ’s light shine in our lives,

and peace in heart and home

prevail through every day

till greater life shall call.

Amen.