A Light Shines in the Night

These are the words on our advent wreath. It has truly been the season of Light. Quakers often speak of the Light as an image of God --of Good—and I like to see it that way. When a Quaker prays for you they will often say “I will hold you in the Light” and that gives a person the sense of being held in warmth and love.

Christmas is the time of Light. The return of the SUN with the winter solstice—the longest night of the year but afterwards the dark  begins to recede and the Light and warmth of spring and new life come again. It is also the return of the SON with the birth of Jesus celebrated at Christmas.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. After 21 years together we have no real need for lavish gifts. We tend to have experiences—go places, see things, participate in life together—and then buy each other some small thing from a charity shop that costs less than £5. This year I got Spiderman a small hedgehog figurine to go with our hedgehog collection and a small carved wooden mouse that looks so like the ones carved on the front pews of the medieval church near by. He got me 2 CDs—Best of the 80s and Best of the 70s with the proviso that I only listen to the 70s one when he is not home. The other thing we do is donate money to a worthy cause. For the past few years we have sent the money we would have spent on each other to my pen pal on death row in Texas.

Christmas is a time for miracles. I have been pulled by a strong worry about the freezing weather and snow and the many homeless in our community. I have been praying that God would show me a way to help. And then the email arrived from Churches Together. One local church was keeping their doors open during the day for homeless and vulnerable people to have a place to go. They would provide hot food and drinks plus games and people to talk to. They needed volunteers. It was as easy as that.

I spent from 2:00 until 6:00 yesterday serving food and chatting with many homeless people. I made some real friends who I am sure will seek me out in town now that they know who I am and know I am up for a chat. That is good. Sometimes being homeless means you aren’t seen as human anymore. You are so easy to overlook and many of  these people need companionship—the warmth of kindness. The Light. I’m going back to day to do the same shift and hope I will see some of the same people again.

I hope this season brings you Light. I’ll be back in a few days with some craft projects.

Happy holidays!