Burst With Light
Let us BURST with LIGHT!!!
This image of exploding light give me energy to move forward. Light in general wakes me up to begin a new day and at night when I turn on the light in a dark room before I enter, it literally lights my way!
Light is important to everyone in all cultures. People “leave the light on” as a sign of welcoming. We light candles to give a feeling of warmth or for more warmth, we light a fire! Light draws people to it (and bugs too). A lighthouse gives someone at sea a landmark, a sense of direction and security. And candles are lit within a church everywhere you go in the world to represent a prayer or in remembrance of someone who has died.
Could you live without light? There are parts of the world where they do live in darkness, literally because the sun doesn’t shine on them. They must rely on artificial light to be able to complete daily tasks. Imagine how that would feel. I think it would have a negative impact on me because even now as I write this, I am in a room with natural light shining on me and I can feel it’s energy. Many people take vacations to warmer climates so they can soak up some sun. I would miss that feeling.
I’d also miss how light helps me see things better. For example, when I was a girl, I always had a book in my face. My parents would say to me often to turn on a light so I could see the words of the book more clearly. Light draws attention to what is important.
As I reflect on the epiphany and the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus, I can’t help but wonder what gifts I bring. I want to make a point to let light, specifically the light of a candle be my reminder to identify one of my gifts and say a prayer of gratitude.
We discussed this idea in my bible study group. We thought that it would be a nice practice to light a candle and sit down with Jesus, everyday if possible. While we sat in Jesus’ presence, the light of the candle flickering would give us the proper gazing point to think back on our gifts, how we were a gift to someone, how someone else was a gift to us and/or what gifts we used that day to glorify God. We loved the idea of then writing down the gift on a post it note and decorate our prayer space, refrigerator or bathroom mirror with all of these notes. These would certainly keep us mindful each day of the gifts we bring to Jesus…what an amazing gift!!!
