Driving in the Dark

Advent 2011
A few months ago I had blown out a headlight on my car and my family kept pointing it out to me. I thought I saw okay at night… I’ll get to it when I have time… and then… the road, more recently, was getting really dark and I thought I’m getting old, my vision is going. Then one evening, while parked in front of the Shea Center, at night, I turned on my car and now noticed that BOTH of my headlights were out! I wondered how long I’d been driving in the dark with no headlights. The very next day I got new headlights and God said let there be light for Holly! Our faith journey is much like driving a car… the new car has very bright headlights and we see very clearly the road ahead… then we drive through mud and our lights dim… we clean them off… but then one light goes and then another and soon our faith, and our car, are now in darkness. We need to constantly pay attention to the light of our faith. We need to pay attention- clean it up and replenish it from time-to-time.

The holy season of Advent is a period of darkness and reflection. In many ways we are steering our faith in the dark as we await the coming of our risen Lord. How often do you feel like you are living in the dark? Do you feel as if your faith is hidden from you at times? How you may long for new headlights to see the road ahead! Christ will bring us new light when He comes again.

Today, before you light your first Advent candle, reflect upon areas of your life where you feel in darkness… pray for light and guidance. Light your candle and feel the soft glow upon your face. Notice that you may not see too much in the darkened room. But next week notice how the lighting of the second Advent candle brings more warmth and light and you can see slightly better. Let us look forward to the time when all of our candles are lit and we see our faith clearly in the light of Christ.
God bless, Holly Clark