Pandemic Catch-Up: New Normal

(Part 3/3)

3:00AM

The clock glared red and unforgiving. Having little experience with middle of the night wakefulness, I took my spiritual director’s long-ago advice to get up and pray. As I lit a candle in the inky-black living room, I discovered just how blinding a tiny flame can be under the right circumstances!

Navigating post-quarantine life is a lot like that candle. I have some bright, burning convictions and the rest is all darkness and trying not to bump into anything while I grope my way down the hall. Sometimes even the convictions feel blinding because they are so clear and the rest is in the shadows.

What are the bright points for you as you move forward in a rapidly-changing world? How do those little flames of clarity help or hinder as you navigate your new normal?

It all makes me long for the day when we see clearly, rather than in little flashes of light.

Hold a Candle to It

In the pre-dawn utter darkness
A candle flares to life
Shining, blinding
A tiny sun, look away!
Yet the darkness
Moves just a footfall
An inch of clarity
And no more
Illumination creeps
Step by step
Light for the feet alone

No wonder the rocks flee
At His coming
Prophets fall facedown
Shepherds panic
Elements melt
Who needs the sun?
The moon utterly superfluous
Light floods the earth
Illuminating every crevice
Pre-dawn utter darkness
Has nowhere to hide

©2021 Jacqueline Tisthammer. All rights reserved.

Photo by Marc Ignacio on Unsplash