light and color

I'm really noticing color and light this late fall. Both light and color make me feel more alive and happy so perhaps I've been seeking it out on these very short days when the sky is  black by 5:15pm. And I find myself attempting to tuck both of these things into the corners and spaces of our homes. Colorful drawings and prints. An antique crazy quilt that my dad's grandmother had stitched by hand many years ago. Lamps glowing low and cozy. Handmade looms with arrays of color. A basket full of yarn, both to use and admire. Books of many colors, lined up side-by-side on shelves and filling baskets, calling to be opened and read. Candles on the windowsill, on the coffee table, on the dinner table. How does such a small flame provide such warmth? Warmth that reaches down into the tired soul.

Yes, I love color and light.

And I have found myself offering prayers of thanksgiving for the little glimpses of both. Thankful for the ability to open my eyes and my heart to these gifts of light Christ has created and given to me, to us. He is THE light, after all. It's His specialty.

So, yes, on these short, mostly gray, and most certainly cold days, I'm reaching out, opening my eyes wide to find these little but mighty gifts He's tucked into the spaces of my life. And for one who can tend to experience a bit of melancholy this time of year, I'm finding this search and awareness of His light, His colors, His creativity, is inspiring me to embrace every single day, whether sunny and warm or gray and cold.

After all, this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.