Advent Day 20: December 21st
Keep A Light Burning

I was very young and delighted that my father's friend, Frankie, would be with us for the holidays. Frankie and my dad once played in a band on the great ship called The Queen of Bermuda. The ship's route was between Bermuda and New York) My father was the pianist, and Frankie played the clarinet. How I loved the stories, whenever we convinced my father to tell them, about life at sea and passengers on those great cruises. One night, as my father stood at the ship's rail, Albert Einstein walked across the deck and stood beside him. Together they watched the green and blue swells of ocean and had a brief conversation. With Frankie in our home, I knew more stories would be told. I could hardly wait. But somewhere between New York and Massachusetts, Frankie's travels were delayed. The night grew dark and he still hadn't arrived, so my father began turning on the lights that lit the driveway and walkway. I sat for hours at the kitchen table, my chin resting in my hands, watching.

Today, the picture I hold of myself waiting at that window is tied to the light we kept burning until Frankie finally arrived. Keep a light burning. Such an important reminder. Keep a light burning. Tend the lights that burn as beacons on your path: the teachers, the books, the small miracles, the inner nudges. We eventually find our way because of them.


by Paula D'Arcy, Redbird Foundation
from the book: Daybreaks