The Flickering Candle

THE F L I C K E R I N G CANDLE

As I watched the candle trio, I noticed two of them were burning steadily, but the third was flickering high then low, sending up a thin stream of smoke as it danced around. Occasionally it would settle down for a bit, but then it would go back to tango-ing. Meanwhile, my attention was drawn to the nearby wall—on it, I could see that warm glowing colors of candlelight were being punctuated by staccato bursts of light. A metaphor came to mind….

The two smoothly burning candles are like the saints who stand beside the Lord. But that pesky third candle that flickers, crackles, and leaves a smoky trail—well, that‘s like you and me. Our flames flicker for all kinds of reasons. Maybe it‘s the environment around us—the “winds“ of suffering, illness, or temptations can put us off our stride, leaving our flames somewhat unstable. Or maybe it is our selves which are causing the crackling and smoke—you know, the faults and impurities of heart and mind which are being burned away as we move on toward The Goal.

And as I looked at that nearby wall, I realized that it was EXACTLY that flickering light which had drawn my attention. In our Christian walk, there are going to be times when spiritual life is a real struggle, and if we‘re open and honest with others about this—but especially about how the Lord brings us through them–well, people will see that something is different about us…. And hopefully, they‘ll be drawn to seek the Lord as we do—because they want what we have!

The moral of the story is: keep your candle burning!

a morphed Nat King Cole classic…

think: ”Chestnuts roasting….”

Sunshine shining on a snowy roof,

Shadows cast by leafless trees,

Tiny lights peeking out—glittering

And birds fluffed up and twittering…

Everybody hoped that snow would fall on Christmas Day—

Hope deferred unto the night:

Feath‘ry flakes floating down from the sky

Turned all the morning‘s world to white.

 

I see a boy out in the lane,

He‘s helping Grandpa shovel snow—a winter‘s game;

I glimpse a little child out for a ride:

Upon her tiny magic sleigh she can fly….

So though my words flow o‘er vast distances,

They‘ll come through music as I send

My hopes you‘ll be blest many ways every day,

In the new year, my friend!

YESHIE** Conclusion

   Yeshie loved to play games–no surprise there! The local favorite was When Pharaoh Messed with Moses—all the neighborhood kids would have a blast pretending to be the pompous Egyptian king with his magicians and charioteers, or else Moses with the frogs and flies and grasshoppers. When that grew a little old, another crowd-pleaser was Tag–You‘re IT! They could play that one for hours.  But one time, I heard them saying over and over, “Yeshie, that‘s not the way you play the game! You‘re not supposed to let IT catch you—remember, “IT“ is a LEPER—you‘re supposed to run away and not get caught!!“

That evening at bedtime, I asked Yeshie about it. He explained that he had felt badly that Ruben had been IT for so long because he had been very sick and was still pretty slow. “I wanted to help Ruben,“ he said, “I knew that if I touched him, he wouldn‘t have to be IT anymore—I could heal him–I could take his place!“ I rumpled up Yeshie‘s hair, gave him a goodnight kiss, and whispered, “I love you…“

But as I left his room, I remembered the Angel telling me before he was conceived
that we were to give him the name Yeshua… “God Saves“ 

   I am still pondering all these things in my heart….

**YESHIE: Imaginative Tales of a Mother as Told by Another / amf