This little light of mine

This little light of mine

The very first movie I took my oldest daughter, Bethany to see was E.T. At the time we lived in a small town in Pennsylvania and were within walking distance of the local theater. Bethany was mesmerized by the movie and like all movie goers the world over, fell in love with E.T. At the end of the movie she began to clap and everyone else in the theater followed suit.

One of my favorite scenes was when E.T. was being hidden amidst multiple stuffed animals thus making him indistinguishable from the other toys.

Everyone was drawn to E.T. by the light he emitted. Throughout the plot of the movie his friends attempted to cover E.T.’s glow so that no one who wanted to capture him would see his glow. Yet, the luminescence that he emitted was necessary as a signal to guide others of his kind to him. They identified with one another because of the light.

Sometimes we need just enough light to see the next step. I was walking through my darkened house the other evening--hoping not to step on one of Rufus’s doggy bones or on Mr. Ball. I could not see one foot in front of the other so I felt around a small table and twisted on the bulb of an electric candle. It is such a little bulb, with low wattage, yet it illuminated the whole room. The darkness was dispersed.
Who can really fully appreciate that the miniscule light emitted from a mini bulb or the tiny flame from a candle is able to provide enough light for you and me to see our next step or illuminate the features of a face or provide a bit of warmth?

One little light like mine and one little light like yours.

Did not God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ proclaim that ‘You are the light of the world?’…’in the same way let your light shine before men…’ *
As well as, ‘Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all…’** 
We are to let our light so shine to draw men and women to the Light of lights.

Our four children’s childhoods were spent in Wheeling, WV. We lived near Oglebay Park--which is undoubtedly (in my unbiased opinion) the most beautiful park in the country with its floral gardens, ponds, walking trails, just to name a very few of the allures that Olgebay Park has to offer.

Each year, beginning in the month of November Oglebay Park displays thousands upon thousands of lights in an array of Holiday displays, dubbed the ‘Winter Festival of Lights’. There is nothing more mesmerizing than driving around more than 300 acres of Oglebay Park in the dark of the night and optically basking in the twinkling lights.
That is the allure of one light strung together with other lights…all brightly shining, dispersing the darkness.

Along that string of lights~every year, my family attends a candlelight service on Christmas Eve to acknowledge and celebrate the Incarnation of the true light of the world. At the closing of the service, one by one each person’s candle is lighted and the glow of thousands of lighted candles illuminates the darkened sanctuary as their reflection also dances on the stained glass windows.

Each person’s candle…is lighted by another person’s candle flame ~the sharing of this little light of mine. Imagine what the impact would be —if each of us---let our own little light shine…for all to see?

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine! How about you?

Wendy’s Witz-dom:
Don’t make light of your little light ~ as even forest fires are set ablaze by one little flame.

God’s Wisdom: ‘I (Jesus Christ) am the light of the world’. (John 9:5)

  *Matthew 5: 14, 16, (New International Version)
**Matthew 5:15 (New American Standard Version)