A Light has Dawned

      The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.  You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.  For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.  Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. 

--Isaiah 9: 2-7

      Some of you may know that I started this blog because I was so inspired by a friend of mine who kept a Lenten Promise blog during a season of Lent. I'm still so obsessed with it. I have read it many times over. Her words speak to me deeply, and they're great! Anywho, in one of her blog posts, she spoke about when she was going through seminary. She said that when leading a church in a small town, it is important not to continue on about "The Lord is coming, He'll be here soon." Instead, emphasize that God is here. He is continuing to work through the town, we just gotta uncover the ways He's working through us. 

      One of my good friends and mentor of mine, David, was talking to me about what happens after graduation. He said "a lot of people around here sit and wait for God to work through their lives. Waiting for that one moment where life clicks. Which is valid, but sitting and waiting is not the answer." 

      I've heard so many things like this. 

      Like, when speaking with Youth Group a few years ago about Christ's second coming. I was certain it had to be coming soon, because, I mean, there is so much awful in the world! So, clearly He's going to come when it is absolutely awful and save us all. So, I'll just wait.

      My pastor looked at me and was sure to give reassurance that that might be the solution. He went on to describe something way bigger and grander and made a lot more sense than sitting and waiting for awful to happen. --What if we don't let the Earth get to that place. What if we receive these gifts of Earth and life and freewill and we make something useful. What if we treat this Earth as our home and respect it. What if we try to help those in need instead of letting them suffer so we can maybe see the second coming of Christ. What if we don't keep doing bad things and letting the world continue to do bad things until Christ has to come and fix it. What if we were that light that shines for a brighter future and a beautiful world. 

      It sounds a lot better than living in darkness. Waiting. Uncertain. 

     We live in a world full of complexities. On one hand, there are beautiful things happening all over. From something as simple as a person helping a stranger, to the gorgeous gift of life, to natural majesties, to a beautiful song. There are millions of beautiful things happening all the time. On the other hand, there are some dark things taking place. Maybe a loved one just lost his or her life, or maybe, simply, you're having a bad day. There are countries in near constant turmoil. There are people without homes. Children are starving. There is so much darkness. And so many people waiting for that light. So many people waiting for God to come. To step in. 

      As a Christian, reading the Bible and the story of Christmas, it's always glorious to get to the part where this new born baby washes away all of our sins and brings such light to the world. It's beautiful. To think that this baby will bring such joy, such peace, such love to the world. Through Christ, we are forgiven and may live in peace. With ourselves and others. It is clear, to me as a Christian, reading the text for today, that the person in question that will bring the light and joy to Earth is Jesus Christ. And there is so much joy to be found in that. 

      And yet, we still have darkness, and waiting, and devastation, and waiting.  

      So, what if we are here to help brighten this world. What if we are called to help make this world brighter. To help those we can, spread our love to those who need it most, to be the light in the dark. What if we are called to be Christ-like. To be quick to forgive, quick to love, quick to do something as simple as smile. 

      I have come to discover (especially this year) that I can't help everyone, however, I can help those that I can help. As obvious as it is, I can. And that's a lot more than not helping. I can't solve world hunger. I can't bring peace to waring nations. I can't stop global climate change. But what I can do is help that guy who is already 5 minutes late and just dropped all of his books. I can help a girl get through her tough day by offering a hand when she just tripped over that random crack in the sidewalk. I can even help a person so angry, he can punch the world in two, by flashing him a nice, genuine smile. 

      It took me, like, two days to figure out what to write for this. Reading the scripture passage, it jsut seemed like what I already spoke about in the previous blog post. However, it was a FaceTime conversation with my parents, me "going to bed early" (and then lying wide-eyed, not knowing why I can't fall asleep), and then reconsidering the passage a few (dozen) times to figure out what I needed to get from this passage. 

      Living in this beautiful Liberal Arts university, there are so many things we, as a student body, want to change. We learn to see the flaws in the world. And they are important to see. And we can change them. There isn't a doubt in my mind that we can solve some of the great issues. But why not also help bring a little light to a person's day? For if we each did that, think of just how bright the world would be then. You think it's bright now? Imagine that world. Pretty incredible.

Woo!
Mary Taylor

P.S.

Prayer: Day 2
"The number of homeless families living in emergency bed and breakfast accommodation is at its highest in nearly ten years, according to government figures published in September 2013. Housing and homelessness charity Shelter has askedChristianity readers to pray for those in the UK without a home this winter, 80,000 of whom are children."
Shelter.org.uk

"And the Darkness Did Not Overcome It"

      This past Saturday was Small Business Saturday. A holiday that continues to grow and my fondness of it grows with it as the years pass. In my hometown, where all the stores are, WalMart, Kroger, etc. You know, the big business stuff. But in the middle of town, right by the historical community theater named The Vanity Theater, there are shops. Antique shops, local cafe, the art museum showcasing local artists, and, in the summer, spring, and fall, there is a farmers market that happens. All downtown, all extremely accessible. And all awesome. To celebrate our wonderful local businesses and to give an extra excuse to hang out and/or run into some old friends and truly cherish the hometown we all take advantage of, we have a Downtown Party Night. Hot chocolate, horse-drawn carriage, a Christmas tree in the Plaza, the works! All to celebrate what a truly great town we live in and celebrate the company we surround ourselves with.
      Now that you get some sort of picture, I will continue with the story.

      I went to Downtown Party Night to see a group of young singers and to support my local community theater. At first, I intended to simply go check out the group, give a couple of dollars, and go home. After all, it was running late, and it was about closing time for some of the businesses. However, after the young singers sang and some hugs from the group, I ran into two friends. Two friends I see often in passing, but haven't really kept constant company with in a while. So, we ran across the street to grab a cup of coffee and chat for a little bit.

      One of my friends had said something that totally clicked with me. "Your spiritual health is just like your regular health." In that if you don't stay active and eat right, your health doesn't get better/stay healthy. In the same light, if you are not active in your spirituality, you probably won't grow spiritually.

      First, let me clear up a couple of things.

      For me, my spirituality and my faith go hand in hand. I know many people say they are spiritual, but not religious, and that is fine and how they understand the world. However, it seems my world puts spirituality and faith in the same boat, pretty much. Okay, onwards!

      Anywho, my friend's comment was very interesting to me. And made total sense. This year, I have really been working on physical health and to be a better human physically, and therefore mentally and stuff (because it actually helps in a lot of different ways). Sure, I have been going to church, and when I remember, I read my Bible, or tune into my Daily Audio Bible podcast. But, you know, my busy schedule and all that jazz. Which is totally valid. I just think I tend to give that excuse to myself a lot.

      The point? This Advent, I wanted to really set the goal for myself to read a passage a day and think on it and pray about it and really do this thing religiously (ha).

      In doing so, I found this advent scripture schedule. For today, December 1, it was John 1: 1-5.

I invite you to read the following passage and think on it, pray on it, whatever works for you. If you're not a Christian, feel free to read it and move on, or you can skip it if you want.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."

      

      The last phrase really stuck out to me. "...and the darkness did not overcome it." 

      Lately, with certain family events, helping some friends as much as I can, and the ever-dreaded finals week, life can seem like it sucks us all totally dry. Or at least me. Sometimes life becomes a lot. The overwhelming schedule on top of things we never expect to happen, how are we ever expected to see this through? Right before the big due date, or event that we've been planning for months, or buying Christmas gifts hoping to get it all done before midnight Christmas morning, there is this doubt, this darkness that overcomes us. Surely this will be the end. Surely I won't be able to make this deadline. Yet, we make it through. We see a light again and it is as if that darkness never plagued us. Like the good ol' phrase of God never giving us more than we can handle. The darkness never overcame that light. We see it through, with His guidance, love, and encouragement, we are able to see that light through the darkness.

      The darkness may seem overwhelming. You may need help finding the light. But, from my experience, once you find the light, it only gets brighter and brighter. And there is much joy in that. 

      May you concur any darkness in your life and see the bright light waiting for you. 

Woo!

Mary Taylor

P.S.

I am also following this prayer schedule. Here's the first prayer:

Lord God, we thank you for Christmas and its message of how, in Jesus Christ, you came to live with us and die for us.
This Christmas, we pray for those people who, having once known what Christmas means, have forgotten it. May they recover its truth.
This Christmas, we pray for those people who have never known what Christmas means. May they discover its truth.
This Christmas, we pray for those of us who know Jesus, that we would, by our living and speaking, uncover its truth for others.
Amen.

Rev Canon J John