I will light my very last candle this morning.
The largest one of all.
The Christ Candle.
The time has come. I’m very glad to do it.
Just two days ago, it was the darkest day of the year in my neck of the woods.
Only 9 hours and 15 minutes between sun up and sun down.
More than over 14 1/2 hours of darkness.
We’ve been heading into this dark time for over three months.
Light getting shorter and darkness getting longer.
It feels like many of our lives right now.
Light is hard to come by.
The light that illuminates our often confusing paths.
The light that warms our bodies and our hearts.
The light that shines and shouts hope for the future.
Darkness threatens to overwhelm.
It shouts!
“There is no hope!”
It scares!
“There is no peace!”
It frightens!
“There is no joy!”
It hisses!
“There is no love!”
But smack dab in the middle of all of the darkness, we light candles, boldly whispering back to the lies and to ourselves.
The small flickers illuminate the room around us.
“Hold fast to HOPE!”
The tiny yellow flames warm our souls.
“The Prince of PEACE lives in us!"
The lit tapers glimmer and glisten.
“Make room for JOY!”
The circle of four sparkle as they shine.
“LOVE is here. LOVE is now. LOVE wins in the end.”
And when the Christ candle is aflame, along with hope, peace, joy and love,
LIGHT arrives on the scene, dispelling any remains of the menacing darkness.
The light of Christ.
The beautiful light of Christ.
Heading into the days to follow, it will be getting lighter and lighter, little by little.
And in just six months, it will be the lightest day of the year!
And maybe, just maybe, at the same time, my own life will reflect that too.
There is great hope.
There is perfect peace.
There is endless joy.
There is unconditional love.
And there is LIGHT that shines in our hearts.
Never to be snuffed out.
The light of Christ.
The beautiful light of Christ!
Merry Christmas!!