Lighting candles

When worry about the future consumes us

I love new beginnings. I love mornings, and Mondays and January 1sts. They always feel like a fresh start to me. It’s a time to let go of the mistakes of the past and start again with a clean slate.

However, there is a new beginning that many of my friends are dreading. January 20th. The day we get a new, well… old President of the United States. This “new” is troubling because of the past. This doesn’t feel like a fresh start, but instead a rewind to days where things weren’t so great for many of us. I see the posts of worry on social media.

“These next four years could get rough, friends. Hang on.”

“Everyone brace yourself for what might happen when Trump gets back in office.”

“I’m worried about what he’s going to do for women’s rights. LGBTQ rights. Our immigrant friends and people of color.”

“I’m scared.”

I don’t want to discount these emotions. Past experience is usually a reliable indicator of what’s to come, and many of us are still traumatized by what happened from 2016 - 2020. But if we allow ourselves to be overcome with fear and dread, it will do us no good at all. There might be some dark days ahead, but that just means we have the opportunity to spread as much light in this world as possible.

“New life starts in the dark,” writes Barbara Brown Taylor. “Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark.”

Every morning, as I settle into my little “prayer chair” (it’s actually a couch in my sunroom but “prayer chair” sounds so much cuter), I light a candle. It’s a little ritual that I do as a way to invite God into my space. If I get up early enough and it’s still dark outside, the candle glows so brightly, reflecting its light upon the sunroom windows and creating a warm glow around me. But as the sun starts rising and the overpowering light of the sun fills the sunroom, I almost forget about the little candle there, doing its best to add light to the moment.

Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t show our light when there is other light surrounding us. Collective light is the best! But what I’m saying is, you often don’t notice light in the light, but you sure notice it in the dark. This is our opportunity to live out our faith and our values in the truest and brightest and boldest of ways.

I think we have all been horrified as we watch the California wildfires destroy so many homes, businesses and lives. The stories are so heartbreaking! But I always remember the story of Mr. Rogers reassuring some young children that when scary times approach, “Look for the helpers.” I have seen so many beautiful helpers sharing their resources and doing everything they can to help the displaced and the hurting. You can see in this video below how communities are stepping up to help victims of the fire:

It’s so beautiful to watch the best of humanity show up in the worst of times. While sometimes it seems human beings can be awful to one another, if we look closely, we can see that there are wonderful human beings in this world, willing to help their fellow man. On that California racetrack, turned makeshift relief center, no one is asking who they voted for, if they have legal status in this country, or what church they attend before they help them. They are just helping because they are humans in need. These are the stories that give me hope. But you have to really look for these stories because most of the news only wants to show you gloom and doom.

Don’t let the bad news convince you that there isn’t still beauty in this world. Every single time that I take a minute to look around, I still see love and light around me. Yes, there might be hard times ahead, but that’s just life. Human difficulties show up, no matter what your job is, or how much money you have.

And don’t let the bad news convince you that there isn’t anything you can do to make things better! We can all do our part to make things better for our fellow man, no matter who is running our government. Don’t be afraid to speak out. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Find the helpers… and then join in to help.

January 20th might be a hard day for many of us, but as I wrote in a previous blog, We The People, it’s not going to change how I approach life. I’m going to keep finding ways to use the gifts that I have to help others. And I’m going to keep shining my little light as much as I can.

When I was growing up, my favorite church service of the year was the candlelight service before Christmas. They would hand out candles to everyone in the sanctuary and then turn all the lights off. It would be completely dark except for one candle that was lit in front of the altar. Then one person takes their candle and lights it from there. That person goes over to the nearest person and offers his candle to light that person’s candle. Then the next person lights their candle from his candle, and so on and so on, until the whole sanctuary is filled with the most beautiful light! Together, with each one of our little candles lit, we filled the darkness.

We can do that now. Together. And if you feel your candle has gone out, I promise, you will find helpers to offer their candle to relight yours.

Don’t be afraid. New life starts in the dark. Look for the helpers.

Love… M