This past Monday our house visited Niagara Falls as I mentioned earlier this week. I loved the lights we saw while there.  I was especially taken with the Falls that were lit up with huge night lights of Blue, yellow, red, green...well the colors of the rainbow. Interesting is that the walkways next to the Falls were not lit up.  So you walked by the lights of the Falls.  They were striking in that it literally looked like lit up rainbows.

Today, Dec 21st is the shortest day of the year when darkness tries to take over.  It is the Winter solstice.  But in the midst of the darkness, I am reminded of the rainbow from Monday night.  We all know that darkness lives in our lives with the many life events that trouble us.  Darkness tries to fool our senses, dull us to the light that lives in our lives.  Darkness can play tricks with our eyes.  We remember that from our childhood and the shadows on walls, branches blowing in the wind.  We might have had night lights to help us to sleep.

For me the image of the rainbow was powerful.  In the midst of my year at L'Arche there have been moments of darkness, but this rainbow reminded me that God was present in those moments to light my way.  The same covenant that was struck with Noah's family, continues with us. I found in the midst of what I have lived which was difficult, was soothed with my relationship with God.  I found myself searching for God even deeper during those painful times.  It takes trust to walk in the darkness, to believe that the light will come, to keep walking.

I think again of Mike Ricci, a core member here in our house.  In his lack of sight, he continues to walk with his hands out in search of what is before him, not only to keep himself from bumping into things, but to find the familiar things that help guide him to his room, the couch, the kitchen, the dining room, the front door.  Mike also depends on the covenant we have struck together through our relationship of living together in the same house.  L'Arche continues to help me work on relationships built on mutual trust and love.

Advent is a continuation of the Noah story.  The promise God made to the people, continues in the birth story of Jesus.  God will not leave us alone in our darkness, our pain, but hears us with greater compassion.  So remember Friday the days start getting longer and more light appears in our day.  Maybe we will be more aware also of God in our lives.

Until next time...

Jeff