un nuevo dia

It’s a known fact that sunrise is later and sunset earlier during this Advent Season. The daylight is precious and we long to see the sun shining. The Indigenous Prayer of the Seven Directions starts with facing the east - where the sun comes up - the directions of new beginnings, hope and potential. The Navajo also teach their children that the sun has only one day and so they must live each day in a good way, so that the sun will not have wasted precious time. These are wise words as we acknowledge the joy in each day.

That’s tough some days and especially during our winter and now with the restrictions put on us because of the pandemic this year. The darkness invades our thoughts; it pulls us down into despair, sadness and pain. But even the tiny flicker of hope is that Jesus is the light. The light lives in me and it is anchored in my soul. So just because we are living with loss - some of jobs, freedoms, savings, family, touch, social togetherness - no one can take away the light in us. We need to shine that light for others especially during this season.

Corrie ten Boom was a woman who suffered the atrocities of imprisonment during WWII. She and her family lost their freedoms after they housed, helped and hid many Jews from the Nazis. Corrie was released from Ravensbruck, a prison camp, on December 28, 1944, due to a clerical error. One of her favorite quotes was, “His light is stronger than the deepest darkness.” Soon after her release, all the women in her camp were killed. She continued to share her light with the world everywhere she went.

May we too know that the darkness cannot extinguish our light - the light of the world came to us in the form of a baby.

“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1: 4-5 NLT