Friends, it has been awhile since I have written anything. I struggle with the strange and scary times we are living in. I don't have any solutions and I don't know what the future holds. It is easy to be dragged into the darkness, to submit to the fear. So a pep talk is in order...for me!!
I find calm when I turn inward in silence, when I remember what I know to be true:
I know a loving Creator, who sees, who hears, who struggles alongside us and cries with us in this dark.
I know that there is light and good present in the world around me.
I know I have to cling to that light...that light that is a million small lights, the acts of kindness, the spontaneous joy, the smiles and giggles, the awe in the beauty around us.
What can I do each day?
I can make a conscious decision to be grateful for small things: getting out of bed, the first sip of coffee, the sunrise and birds, the sounds of a household full of life...
I can make a decision to focus on the light around me, to let go of my own agenda and expectations, and let the day unfold as it is meant to.
I can choose to be light for others...with a smile, with a joke, with a song, with a small gesture of kindness...
I can choose to lighten someone else's burden by offering an extra set of hands, a listening ear, a spontaneous gift,...
I can reread this tomorrow when I am again grappling with fear. And I can start again. Each new day brings us this opportunity to choose.
I choose hope.
I choose light.