ONE SMALL CANDLE

 The turn of the year is a time both for looking back and reflecting ahead. When we look back at the past, we realize that we could have done things differently, should have, in fact, that mistakes were made but there were a myriad of successes as well. While we may revel in our triumphs and regret our tragedies, we also realize that the past is passed and cannot be undone and that only the future is in our hands.

What that future will be like will only be known when it is past, when it can be viewed from the perspective of the present, just as we now reflect on the past of last year that was our future when that year began. As we reflect back, we wonder if we made a difference in the world, if what we did really mattered. As we look ahead, we ask ourselves the same question: will my life matter? Will I make a difference?

The late scholar Sir James Dowling, who did make a difference in the world in his time, when he was 90 and looked back on his life, came to this conclusion: “When you’re young, you think you’re going to reform the world, that you’re going to make a great impression. When you get old, you realize that, at best, you have only lit one small candle.” You also realize, if you think about it, that one small candle can light a very, very dark room.

We light candles, you and I, by the way we live our lives. They are small candles, to be sure. But without our candle being lit, the world would be darker. To discount our light would be wrong and it would diminish us as a person. No one is unimportant. Everyone has a candle to light. The reason we were born, the reason God created us, was to give light to the world. And as Jesus said, that light of ours is not to be hidden under a bushel basket but to be placed on a stand to give light to those around us. That’s parabolic language to be sure but it is also the truth.

At this time of year we often make resolutions about doing things differently, living life better, making changes in our life that need to be made but won’t come easily. More often than not we bite off more than we can chew and wind up giving up or settling for much less than we could or should. That may be human nature but it is also no excuse. What we often end up doing is nothing: no reflections on the past, no thoughts about what lies ahead, just living from day to day.

What we cannot not do is snuff out the candle. We light the way, whatever that way may be, good or bad, wherever it leads, because doing so comes with the territory of being human. There is no way around it. And even though our light may not be very bright, even though we may be embarrassed because of where it is going and what others saw us doing, we are a candle in the world.

If for this year we resolve to do nothing else, perhaps what we can do, perhaps what we should do, is simply, each morning of each day, remind ourselves that we are a candle, one small candle, yes, but one candle that God has put on this earth to light the way for others. We won’t make a great impression but we will make a difference