A Light in the Darkness

Here’s this week’s reflection. I hope it resonates with you and ask that, if you enjoyed, please comment and share on your social media. Heartfelt thanks for all your support!

Keeping the light on for you,

Carol

There are a few things that make me smile during the cold, shorter days of winter. One is watching a daily flock of deer that peacefully graze with bowed heads in an adjacent (protected) farm field at dawn or dusk. Another is the song of warblers willfully staying behind in bare timber. 

But the one that warms my heart most is the twinkle of holiday lights across abundant snowy acreage; flickering window candles beckoning welcome and protection from the elements. I can’t help it; it stirs something deep within this country girl’s soul. 

On a recent drive one evening, we passed a neighboring barn. From behind its  loosely held, weathered slats, twinkle lights strung across many old rafters, shared their golden rays of seasonal joy with those lucky enough to pass by. I drew a breath as their sight greeted us; the glimpse of simultaneous history and holiday cheer stoked  immense gratitude within me. Thankful for the kind folks who labored to put them up, as well as the vision of hospitality and direction it imbued on a snowy night. That humble barn, all gussied up, reminding us that “perfection” is a misnomer. Sweet imperfection is our truer reality – roughness still able to sparkle, the challenges and possibilities forever a honeyed dichotomy of human existence.

This year’s ending has been troublesome for many in our circle. Hearts have been heavy, or worse, empty. Those faring better feeling perplexed, even guilty for it having been a good year for them, or feeling sadness by association. But life is a journey of peaks and valleys we all walk. And on occasion, it’s seemingly impossible to find that luminosity we seek in gloom. Yet a brightness is always there, sometimes as a faint glimmer, sometimes as a wash of luminescent grace. 

May you, dear reader, seek and hold that heartfelt glow, contemplate its deeper meaning, or simply revel in and soak up its wholesome illumination. Regardless of its brightness, it leads all of us hometo what really matters.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas with love and blessings in the New Year!