Seeking Light in the Darkness

We are moving. After 20+ years in our current home, it’s time to move on. When our kids were little, we moved from a struggling city outside Boston to a hilltop in rural Maine. I loved it there. We could see for miles, many miles. To the west, we could see across the state of Maine, all the way to the White Mountains of NH. Mt. Washington, in all its glory stood out, especially during its first snow of the year. And to the north, we could see Mt. Katahdan. I can still see my kids, leaning on our deck, watching friends as they drove up the road and then our driveway. It always made us smile in anticipation. The night sky was like nothing I had seen before; it always reminded me of my father. He knew the stars and when I was little he would teach me some of them. But watching storms come through was the highlight, at least for me it was. It was the first time I had watched rain move across the sky. Large patches of clouds and dark streaks of rain traveling from one town to the next. So it is with excitement that we are moving back to the country.

When we moved from that hilltop to a small town we thought it was what our kids needed. It worked for them. They made friends, went to school, and are now independent adults. It is time to go back to the simplicity and quiet of the countryside.

My daughter sent me a text with pictures of solar lights for outside. She was asking if we’d like them. They looked nice but the first thing I thought about was their effect on the night sky. We will be living again where street lights and neighbor’s lights will be absent and thus able to enjoy a brighter night sky again. So solar path lights, lighting up the sky, probably not happening. This then made me think of my son, now living in a city of lanterns. And how lucky he is to be surrounded with such peaceful light. As I thought about lanterns, a dark night sky, and solar lights I thought of our country and the darkness we are living in. How long will it last? We we rise together into the light? I am hopeful but also realistic. This is an incredibly tenuous time for our country, especially for those who live outside the promise of “justice for all”.

May we all work to move into the light of peace and justice for all.

Mary