It was a challenging moment. Everywhere I looked, all I could see or imagine was one-way streets and darkness. It felt as if I was driving an old car with a poor generator and failing battery. The flickering headlines told the story, within and without.
A WhatsApp note changed everything. It was a bright light in an otherwise dull scene. What was blocked now appeared open. Dead end roads were bends and curves to be enjoyed with new revelation of what was beyond. I found myself replaying an old memory.
The old memory is dominated by the bright light which emerged when an old man in an even older pick-up suddenly appeared on a remote Canadian highway at two in the morning. It was a unexpected miracle given the situation. I had been riding in which had run through a curve and ended up high centred in the snow. It the immediate stillness and darkness, it seemed as if only bad things would follow. This spell was broken by the rumbling of the truck, the crunch from footsteps on the snow, and the work of an old man.
As I drifted back to the present, I realise how often Divine Lights appear in my life, often uninvited by oh so very welcomed! In my best moments, I repeat Paul’s words as a prayer of thanksgiving; “I thank God through Jesus for every one of you. That’s first. People everywhere keep telling me about your lives of faith, and every time I hear them, I thank him.” (Romans 1.8). In every moment, I find myself rediscovering hope, a sense of possibilities, and know there is courage fighting to get out within me.
In looking forward to today and the moment at hand, my lesson is to reach, not wait, for the lights all around me. Relationship and conversation invitations are here, waiting for my response. Yes, there will be risks and disappointing outcomes. Along the way, I know I will find bright examples of love, compassion, and opportunity. Each delivered by a Divine child as a gift.
