Some Favourite Things from Wendy Barker
I’ve been thinking about that song from Sound of Music, where Julie Andrews sings of her favourite things (“raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens” ~ you get the drift). It struck me that I have actually found a few favourite things during this year of Covid. Some I might list are:
Skype, Zoom and FaceTime with family and friends
seeing a familiar set of eyes at the grocery store
that first breath of fresh air after I take off my mask
all the crazy Covid jokes and fractured Covid Christmas carols (yes, I wrote one, too).
My latest favourite is to collect a take-out hot-chocolate with Allan, and drive a different neighbourhood each evening to see the Christmas lights. Other years, we’ve done one round, often on Christmas Eve. This year, we’ve spread it out to really appreciate the way people have tried to light up the darkness. From the geometric, to the artistic, to the tacky, to the ethereal, they all sparkle in the night. It calls to mind the quote I have over the manger scene on my mantle:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.”
~John 1:5
That is our hope and our joy — light can overcome darkness, but darkness can never put out the light.
Prayer
Giver of Light
Remind us that you are with us even in the darkest of our times.
Light us from within, and chase away the shadows of our fears and doubts.
Help us to be beacons of light to those around us.
Amen