#LIGHTtheWORLD Dec 9

I woke this morning thinking about this initiative.  No one is forcing me to participate.  I have had invitations to do so from many different sources.  In the end, it is a commitment that I made.  I did not commit to any one individual, but I did commit, personally.  The more I ponder this commitment, I realize that it is more than a commitment to this initiative.  I have committed to be a LIGHT.  You and I know that I am not always a bright LIGHT, but I have committed to try.  When my LIGHT flickers, it is up to me to re-kindle it.  Sometimes I am fortunate enough to have someone in my life who shines brighter, come around at just the right time to help me or give me the opportunity to see, to be influenced, or re-kindled from their radiance.  But in the end, it is my choice, my commitment, my agency whether I do or don't.

I am so very much aware at this point in my life that there are others who do not want this LIGHT.  They not only reject it, but they look for ways to darken the LIGHTs of others.  I know that their influence can and is strong in the world.  Again, it comes down to my choice, my commitment, my agency as to whether I follow, whether I let them put out my LIGHT, or whether I choose to shine.

Then there are those, I feel anyway, that just don't realize what kind of influence they are.  They are just doing their best, what they think is right, or following the instincts they have in life.  Sometimes, they are influences of LIGHT.  Other times they are influences of DARKNESS.  Or at least that is how we perceive them to be.  In reality, they are just doing.  What kind of influence they are to me depends on how I choose to be influenced.  I have not control over the choices they make.  They don't have any control over the choices I make.  It is how we react to our individual commitments that matter.  

I have chosen to participate in this initiative.  Through it I have been influenced.  I am grateful for the reminders.  I awe struck with the power of love and charity I have encountered.  I hope that I can choose better in my own life because of these experiences.

We followed the guide today and visited a person who we thought would be lonely.  She is a widow.  She is legally blind.  In the last 24 months, she has had both hips and knees replaced.  She lives in a small one bedroom apartment with her two cats.  We thought it would be a nice visit.  I know that I walked away re-kindled.  

We found her in her living room space, buried a mid a pile of fabric, bags, and more.  She had rigged a make shift quilting frame between dining room chairs, sofas, and recliners.  She was tying a quilt.  This was the number 3 or 4 of 5.  She was making them for her neighbor who lived upstairs.  She felt she was in more need. She wanted them to have something for Christmas.  Amazing.

As we visited, we learned that she had just had two teeth removed the day before, but she was up and doing.  What was supposed to be a simple procedure turned into a 2 hour ordeal.  I asked how she got to and from the dentist as she cannot drive.  She said she walked to and from the office, a mile or so away from her abode.  

She has had so many opportunities to choose the experiences in her life bring DARKNESS, but she doesn't.  She chooses LIGHT.  I can only imagine.  I hope that our visit was an influence of LIGHT.  I know that I walked away re-kindled.

I hope that you take time to look at your LIGHT.  Look at your life.  Look at your commitments.  What will you choose?  How will you re-act to the influences and experiences that are presented to you?  I encourage you to choose LIGHT.  Put off the DARKNESS and choose, commit, and be LIGHT.  It is not always easy, but it is worth it.