Life Lesson #209 ~A Light In the Darkness

May it be a light to you in dark places when all other lights go out. “ ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Forty years ago this month in December of 1977 I was celebrating Christmas with my parents and our very large and very diverse extended military family. My parents were a true light shining in the dark. An example like none other to me. Our home was never quiet or dull for that matter. It was always open and overflowing with folks every night for dinner, bible study and fellowship. In fact, many nights our floors were filled with sleeping GI’s. And this Christmas was no different.The tree was up, our stockings hung and the table was set. Mama was in the kitchen cooking with a small band of eager helpers. My daddy was in the living room with a couple of the young guys putting together a few of my new toys from Santa. And I was out on my brand new roller skates with Cathy. Life was good. I loved our life there. My dad was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany at the time. Our quarters were often covered in snow during the winter time. I’d stay outside until I dropped from exhaustion. My daddy would come home and join me out back. We’d build snow forts often and of course no day was complete without a snowball fight, right? He’d pick me up, put me on top of his shoulders and carry me inside to the table where two cups of hot cocoa were waiting on us. Living in such a place as we did lent strongly to my imagination. I mean I was surrounded by all kinds of history, both fascinating and terrifying. Castles, cathedrals, museums, rivers, forests, remnants of a past filled with concentration camps and death and of course the Berlin Wall. Every weekend was spent somewhere lost among the sites. We spent afternoons inside the Black Forest, sledding. We walked through castles, sailed down the Rhine River and stood under the chilling gate sign at the front entrance of Dachau. My life as a child growing up among so many ghosts of history set the stage for my conscience with a deeper understanding of what was wrong and right. By the time I was five I had not only heard and read of the great evils in this world, but I’d seen them with my own eyes and felt them with my own senses. With my hair raised, those memories imprinted and  left behind on the walls, also imprinted upon my heart. I left Germany, still a child but knowing my life as an adult needed to be above anything else, a light shining in the darkness. I love how Rumi describes what this means. “Being a candle is not easy. In order to give light one must first burn.” You see, as I grew, this need to burn and keep the fire inside my own heart for truth and goodness alive became overwhelming. I’ve often kept Christ’s words close to my heart, day and night. “No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see the light.”( Luke 8:16) It became abundantly clear to me in my short life, at just four and five years old, I’d seen too many examples within history hide the light within themselves. I knew no matter where God took me, I would not be one of them. And maybe in the end, that’s why I’ve suffered so much. Satan, the extinguisher of light, killer of hope and the father of all lies painted a target on my back then and there. And since then he's repeatedly come after me, looking to snuff out my light. Yet, time and time again Gods given me the grace and strength to keep burning, to keep shining in the darkness. I’ve known pain and suffering yes. Still, my life and childhood, across the pond and back here at home has been filled constantly with adventure, Jesus, grace and unconditional love.

As a child I had a wild imagination, it’s true. Yes, I had imaginary friends and we had some pretty awesome adventures together too. But none quite as big as Pete and Elliot. I’d say we came fairly close though. Now I was just four years old when Disney’s original version of Pete's Dragon first hit the big screen in November of 1977. My imagination being what it was, I was ecstatic about the notions of dragons coming to life. I passed this same love of dragons on to my boys. But that’s another story for another day, is it not?.I was completely drawn into Pete’s story. I wanted an Elliot of my own. He was good, a guardian in many ways and though he was rather clumsy his heart was true. He had this incredible gift of becoming invisible. I mean what comic book lovin’ kid doesn't appreciate that particular ability? And in a dragon too. All the better I say. I loved Elliot. He was somewhat of a mischief maker but gentle, kind and loyal. Everything a child could ask for in a dragon with green scales and purple wings, right? I truly love this description of Elliot. “His name is Elliot. He’s 20 feet high, 40 feet long. He can become invisible as the drop of a hat. In fact, there’s only one way t o bring this awesome beast under control...rub his tummy.” Much like Pete, Elliot carried a light inside himself. And that light called to my childlike heart over and over again. I knew every line. One of my favorites was when Nora defends Pete’s belief in Elliot, though she had yet to come face to face with him. She was an unbeliever, still she was kind and gracious. Definitely a good example to many of us ‘believers” now a days. And while her dad was ranting about a dragon living with them, she was rolling out the welcome mat. One of my favorite lines comes from Nora herself. “Well, if there’s enough room for a chowder-head like you, then there’s more than enough room for a dragon.” I like to think this is how God in His grace sees us as Christians sometimes. Just because we have a key to the lighthouse, doesn’t mean we are in charge of who takes refuge. Lampie, Nora’s lighthouse keeper father did believe in Elliot. He’d seen him and he was afraid of what he didn’t understand. He certainly spent a lot of his time three sheets to the wind which is a good reason she didn't believe him either I suppose. But just like Pete, he’s needed Elliot, whether he knew it or not. Nora knowing the tide would be coming in soon, extends a warm night’s sleep to Pete at the lighthouse. Once inside Pete confides in Nora. True as in real life, chaos ensues. Life gets turned upside down, villains appear but good eventually overcomes. And why? Because those who carry a radiant light within them, never hide it away. And when this luminosity inside the lighthouse went out, Elliot ignited it again with his own flame. Without the lighthouse, all would have been lost and Nora would have never been reunited with Paul, her only love lost at sea. This is why it’s so important we keep Christ's fire burning inside us. For some, we are the ones who go out and pull the lost in to safety while others serve as lighthouse keepers, making sure the light is always burning. Lea Michele explains this brilliantly. “A lighthouse doesn’t save the ships; it doesn't go out and rescue them, it’s just this pillar that helps to guide people home.” See, we all have a purpose, either as light bearers or as light keepers and sometimes as both. Both are equally important in a world often covered in darkness.

Now for many this old classic may seem a little cheesy given today’s standards, but back then it was something to behold, let me tell you. I still love this movie. It's one of my very favorites. I saw it in theaters, on post an unbelievable 40 years ago. I raised my kiddos on this film. In fact, some of the very first Disney movies my boys were ever introduced to came straight outta my childhood. Pete’s Dragon was one of those movies. I remember as a little girl sitting on our couch in Hollywood, Florida snug as a bug in a rug with my mama, listening to Nora (Helen Reedy) sing these very lyrics on my LP. “I’ll be your candle on the water. My love for you will always burn. I know you’re lost and drifting but the clouds are lifting. Don’t give up you have somewhere to turn. I’ll be your candle on the water ‘till ev’ry wave is warm and bright. My soul is there beside you. Let this candle guide you. Soon you’ll see a golden stream of light. A cold and friendless tide has found you. Don’t let the stormy darkness pull you down. I’ll paint a ray of hope around you circling the air lighted by a prayer. I’ll be your candle on the water. This flame inside of me will grow. Keep holding on you’ll make it here’s my hand so take it. Look for me reaching out to show as sure as the rivers flow I’ll never let you go.“ I was drawn to these verses as each word echoed inside my heart. So much so my boys can recite from memory this song even today as a adults themselves. Why? Because I sang it to them constantly as children. I myself have held this message close to my heart, and I wanted to plant those same seeds in theirs too. Today, Elliot hangs on our tree as a reminder to all within of John 1 :5. “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” My challenge to you today as Christmas day approaches comes directly from Tyler Knott Gregson.”Chase the light, whatever and wherever it may be for you. Chase it.” And my advice? Don’t spend too much time lollygagin’ around. Get your fire burnin’. Keep fanning those flames, keep moving forward never be ashamed of the gospel lighting your path. And if you do, you might find yourself a lot like Pete, one of the bravest people anyone has ever met.

So I implore you this weekend as we prepare our hearts and homes for Christmas not to forget Who the reason for this season truly is. His birth breathed hope back into the world and His love, shined like a floodlight in the darkness of hate. His grace, today still embodies the true meaning of unconditional love. Our Savior came to us as a child, born not into privilege but of lowly stature, humble and meek. On one very dark and cold night and in the most humbling of surroundings, in a stable of all places He was born. A shepherd to the lost and a hope for the hopeless. Jesus,  He’s merciful and mighty. There's truly none like Him. Just as Bethlehem's star, He’s a lighthouse, leading and guiding us home. When I think of my Lord and Savior I do not see a figure above me, but a shepherd beside me. His light irradiates the blackness of night shining into each and every corner of my life. Much in the same way the great Maya Angelou speaks of light illuminating the darkness. "Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” I know Him as my brother, Redeemer, Lord at His birth, the perfect Son of God and His name is Jesus. He’s the Light of the world; like daybreak and a blaze of sunshine within me. To me He is the hope of the world. He's my star of wonder and a lighthouse always pushing me further along. Into the darkness He leads, but as a light bearer myself I know Ben Sweetland’s words to be powerfully true. "We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.” Yes, as we lay in the darkness we may feel overwhelmed and fear indeed may overcome us in the dead of night but I have seen the remnants of a lighthouse gone cold. I have walked through the long closed gates of hell, and felt the cold brush of lives lost because good men chose to say nothing. Some 40 years later those very memories have stayed with me, haunting me. Like Elliot, I am a guardian of the truth, a keeper of the flame. I cannot allow or afford the gleaming lantern within to be extinguished. None of us can really. We all have an obligation to be keepers of the lighthouse. I guess I’ve understood this since I was a child and have not forgotten it as an adult. My faith is the core of my being. Jesus is to me a wonderful counselor, longstanding place of refuge and truly my Prince of peace. I may have been small then but still His words captivated my heart all those years ago “I AM the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I knew this be to my truth because I saw His example in my parents tending to the fire, keeping the lighthouse not only visible but open. And because of this, the words found inside Matthew 5:16 became real to me. “In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in Heaven.” Yes, it’s true, I'm just an ordinary girl, awkward in her own awkwardness with a strange way of interpreting movies, music and books. I see life through completely different glasses than most, that’s for sure. But like Pete, though difficult at times, I can see what many cannot. And though some have dismissed me over the years, I’m truly blessed by the sight I’ve been given. When I doubt myself, watching my own flames start fading  Helen Keller reminds me of the importance of this sight I've carried with me since childhood. “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” I wonder how many are guilty of this? See I’ve dealt with my share of quakes like Dr.Teminus and Hoagy and of course the Gogans and their ‘Bill of Sale.” Still I haven’t surrendered my hope, dreams or the lamplight burning within me. Like Pete knew Elliot was real, I know Jesus Christ is real because He lives within me.

The Bible says Jesus brings light and life to all. Be that same sparkling light. Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Then maybe we need to look to the Word of God instead of our own interpretations of it. Christ clearly lights the way when it comes to living life out loud in His name. He's clear, no interpretation needed. Go feed the hungry. Offer clothing to those without. Swallow your pride and forgive the guilty. Always welcome the unwanted and take care of the sick. Love your enemies and treat others exactly as you would want to be treated yourself. This is what Christmas is truly all about and everyday in between. If you seriously want a Christmas this year that whispers God's love, speaking Jesus to the world around you, then you must first allow Him to fill you with His true, genuine and authentic light. After all He is the light of the World. His birth was more than a moment in history. His birthday is not just some random holiday we exchange gifts on. Look deeper. Those gifts under our trees are more than pretty packages wrapped in ribbon and bows. Each gift we offer and take are symbolic of His life and death. After all we can’t honor one without the other. Both brought us hope and both have given us the gift of salvation. My hope today is that you will grab hold of this gift and set His fire free within your own heart. I have no idea how my life will turn out. I know how it’s gone so far, and with each victory and failure Jesus has been there right beside me fanning the flames of His great brilliant light inside my heart. I’m far from perfect but I’m His and no matter what tomorrow brings, today I can shine. Just as the Lumineers belt out, “Nobody knows how the story ends. Love the day. Do what you can. This is only where it begins…” 

And so as Christmas Eve finds us with our families, gathered around tables and Christmas trees, merry and bright remember the core of Life Lesson #209~ A Light In the Darkness, is to inspire you and your heart to bravely and courageously shine your light brightly for all to see. History tells us, shows and implores us only one candle is needed to set the world on fire. Just one to light thousands. Be that one. May your Christmas be filled with hope and joy. May this day be bright, filled with extended family and gifts under a beautifully decorated tree. May you know God's peace and blessings. May Christ’s unconditional love and grace surround you. And may you feel His glowing illuminating fire burning deeply within you as never before. Merry Christmas my dear friends and family. To all a good night...sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.

“Look at how the candle can both defy and define the darkness.” ~ Anne Frank

~ Merida Grace