Happy Birthday my sweet Lindsey. Today you turn 21.
Note: I haven't been on this blog for a while. I've actually been writing, but haven't felt just right about posting. I like what I've written, but maybe, I guess, they didn't resonate enough for me. This is different. I want to write this, whether or not it is re-posted or even read.
Candles are a pretty neat thing. We use them for all kinds of things. pleasant home scents, light, birthdays, and even funerals. They represent so many different feelings and attitudes that we get all the time. We light them to make us happy, to cover up smells, to shine, and to remember.
Today many of those feelings are with me. I even wanted to light a candle to mask the smell of my dog.
21 years ago today, a girl was born that would change the way I looked at the world in so many ways. Her smile, friendship, and laughter showed me what it means to really be a light in the world. And if i could do anything for her on her birthday, it would be to say thank you for all the meaning she put in my life. I would love to watch her blow out her candles, have her first legal drink, and celebrate life.
At funerals many times candles are lit as a way to remember the person that has passed on from this world into the next. These candles help us give a physical representation of their movement into a new life, and with it's extinguishing, their existence in this one.
There was a candle that never burned out though, and it held very special meaning in the Tabernacle. This was a menorah. Now, I'm sure your mind immediately went to Hanukkah which then leads you thinking of dreidels and food and... ah I've gotten off topic myself.
Literally the most basic menorah I could find.
Someone needs to take a really cool artsy photo of one, Google images is really lacking.
Anyways, the menorah. God instructed the Israelites to construct a lamp made of pure gold to be used in the Tabernacle. This was also called "The Lamp of God." Three lamps would burn in the day, and three at night. Here's the cool part. The one in the center, always burned. Always. Even though they used the same amount of oil in all of the lamps. they considered this to be significant to God being present with them. Pretty neat.
So in light (no pun intended) of today's birthday celebration, it brings me back to thought about Lindsey. Her continuing light that burns bright in all of us is kind of like a giant birthday cake with a menorah for the candles....
...oh wait
She is never burning out, and it keeps us remembering in our struggles, pain, suffering, emotional breakdowns, physical exhaustion that God is present with us. He hasn't left us hanging on for dear life, he's here right now. I want to continue to shine the light that she gave me, as my gift to her. I love you Linds and we all miss you, may we all continue to burn bright.Happy Birthday.
Come Lord Jesus soon. We need your resurrection.
