Candlelight Breakfast

   For those of us in the northern hemisphere, these are some of the darkest days of the year.  It is not unusual to head out for work or school in the pitch dark and then return home at the end of the day in that same all consuming obscurity. Rather than give in to the darkness, however, why not embrace it!  Consider the darkness as an invitation to light a candle. 

   Sometimes at my house, we brighten our dark morning routine with a candlelight breakfast.  Next to the candle we place a small piece of paper with this short prayer,

God’s light shines through you.

God’s light shines through me.

God’s light shines through everyone we meet.

Look for it!

This simple little practice of lighting a candle and saying a prayer during breakfast has become a lovely addition to our dark, winter mornings.  As we plunge head-long into our days, it is important to remember that God’s light does indeed shine through me, through you and through every single person we meet.  May we have eyes to see – even when (perhaps especially when!) that light is only a faint ember.