Photo was taken recently at Altamount, Millstreet, Co.Cork (Irl)

A bunch of red berries are highlighted even more with the presence of snow just beside them

Thought on Monday – February – 08/02/2021

‘Be you. You are sacred’ ~Lailah Gifty Akita

Last week we celebrated Candlemas Day. As a secondary school chaplain I have found myself in recent weeks trying to reach out in new ways to both students and staff. I have been making short videos and sharing them. I wanted to include a picture of a candle with a lovely tall yellow flame. So to get the right picture I was testing different candles to get the right shots for the video. So once I had picked my candle I noticed that the flame in one candle was small and seemed almost insignificant. It looked especially small when it was placed next to the candle with the tall flame.

That moment created my little insight. Aren’t we so often like the candle with the small flame? We begin to compare our flame and light with other people. Theirs seems so much brighter and taller than ours. Their life and story seems more interesting, better and more exciting. We begin to dismiss our story, our candle and our light. We begin to doubt ourselves and we begin to doubt that our light is making any difference.

But our light is just as important. Our light continues to make a real and lasting difference, not just occasionally but every single day. The constant message of the Gospels is that your light is precious, special and unique. Be proud of your light. Let it shine. Like all lights it can grow dim and may look small. But place it in a dark room and it is everything. Its light fills the room.

I genuinely feel we do too much comparing. The world we live in today almost asks you to compare. There is not enough focus on our good news and minding ourselves and treasuring our light. Can you begin to treasure your amazing light? As we journey through these difficult and uncertain times, it is so important that we nurture light and hope – especially yours.