I refer you to Bruno's comments on my earlier blog, "every morning". I like his point of view. We can't change the world, many have tried and failed. But we can change ourselves, and as we change, so do those around us, and so it can spread, each of us becoming the best we can, and serving in our own small corners.
When I was a child I went to church in the local hall. There was always a part of the service specifically directed at the children, and a children's hymn. I had two favourites.
One was:
"Jesus bid us shine like a clear pure light,
Like a little candle, burning in the night,
In this world is darkness, so we must shine,
You in your small corner, and I in mine"
and the other:
"Jesus wants me for a sun beam to shine for Him each day,
In every way try to please Him, at home, at work, at play.
A sun beam, a sun beam, Jesus wants me for a sun beam
A sun beam, a sun beam, I'll be a sunbeam for him."
I don't really attend church any more. I can't define what I mean by God any more. But I do believe. And in a time of darkness, the song that kept me going was also about light. I can't find the words, now, so I could get them wrong. But it was something along these lines:
Light a candle in the darkness
You will see flicker glow
Ask a friend to light another
And the light will soon begin to grow
Others friends will come to join you
Bringing candles of their own....
(Can anyone help me with the words to this? Oh dear, that's not what this post was about! I have just had to delete a whole paragraph! How easily distracted I am).
I think you would like that song, Bruno. That's what you are doing, in your work. Lighting many candles with friends.
But yes, when the job looks too big, when the problems seem huge, remember how a tiny candle in a window was enough to guide a ship safely into port on a stormy night.
There is a danger that the candle has become a cliché as a symbol. But that is only because it is such a good one. In times of darkness, how much hope we get when we can see a tiny light.
And here, on a "spring" day, with full "winter" sun, there is lots of light.
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Post script, with thanks to Tania:
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Light a candle in the darkness
You will see a tiny glow
Ask a friend to light another
And watch the light begin to grow
Others soon will come to join you
Bringing candles of their own
As the light and the warmth start spreading
You'll no longer be alone
A ray of hope
Is only a shaft of light
And a ray of hope is all you need
Deep in your heart
5 comments:
From Wikipedia: Irene (sometimes written Irini) is a name meaning peace, originating from the Greek Ειρηνη.
Light a candle in the darkness
You will see a tiny glow
Ask a friend to light another
And watch the light begin to grow
Others soon will come to join you
Bringing candles of their own
As the light and the warmth start spreading
You'll no longer be alone
A ray of hope
Is only a shaft of light
And a ray of hope is all you need
Deep in your heart
Thank you TK, lots of love :-)
Your rememberer works much better than mine!
Actually, another verse just came to me:
Every grain of sand's important
Every leaf on every tree
Take away each tiny fragment
And our whole world would cease to be
When one day your light grows dimmer
And your candle's burning low
From the flame you can light others
And your light will never die
It just doesn't exactly rhyme, so maybe I've remembered two verses and spliced them into one, but no, I think that's how we sang it with Mrs Eagles :-)
I wonder if it was
And your light will never go ... ?
That same prizegiving, 1988, there was a wonderful rendition of Tumbling Tumbleweeds.
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