We have a cemetery less than a mile from our home. It’s on very busy Highway #41. Our family chose to bury Joyce there because we wanted her grave close by. Gives us a good chance to make sure it’s kept up.

As I drive past the cemetery several times a day, I frequently see both tiny and huge funerals. Mostly I see tons of flowers. The flowers are beautiful and certainly speak volumes about the desire of those who were left behind to express their love and appreciation.

My piece last week about “Candles” prompted the following e-mail from someone who knew Joyce and me when we lived in Pensacola from ‘73 to ‘76.

“Just wanted to share something with you. My first impressions of both Joyce and yourself were that you both were shining examples of what being a Christian was all about. Very similar to a candle’s glow. The two of you stood out as what I’d always thought it should be like, not like those who were very loud and vocal, but acting out of character so that you dismissed their very words. At that point in my life, I needed to see the glow, not hear empty words. I’m glad my friend chose to share you two with me.

My impressions, by the way, have not changed over the years of our association. I may not have met your current wife, Pat, but I’m sure she’s very much the same as Joyce in focus.”

I shared this e-mail with Pat and asked her if she would be comfortable if I used it as a springboard for this week’s new piece. She said that she was completely all right with that. When Pat joined me and my three teen-agers, it was never strange for us to talk about Joyce. Pat had prayed for Joyce for a year and a half before her death and never actually met her. God made it very easy for all of us to include memories of Joyce. Just another reason to love and appreciate Pat whole bunches!

When I answered the above e-mail, I shared that it was one of the most encouraging and edifying communications I’d ever received. I told her that it made my year, at least.

I have this little principle by which I operate. The best time to give people flowers or make a visit is when they’re still alive and kicking. How often we all use semi-valid excuses (they’re often the worst kind) for not letting people know how we feel about them. AND, we’re always GOING to make that phone call, drop that note, whether snail mail or e-mail, make that visit, etc.

My friend of more than 25 years really caught me by surprise and encouraged me more than she’ll ever know. Isn’t it time for us to “go and do likewise”? (AND, I don’t just mean Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Birthday, etc. How about spontaneously and unexpectedly?) (g)

Please let me know what the Lord says to you through this new piece. I look forward to hearing from lots of you!  Use the “Leave a Reply” box below!  Now, for further blessing, check out the responses to last week’s piece!

* Usually at Christmas we do a candlelight service and sing “Silent Night”. Something I like to point out is that we start with just one candle and soon the whole room is blazing with Glory! Then, one by one, I have each person put out his/her candle, until the last one is the only one lit. Then I tell them not to be afraid, because even if all our lights go out, the original light that came into the world will NEVER go out! Praise be to God for giving you this idea, brother!

* As usual, another good piece. I am one of those unusual guys who does not like candles, especially if they’re scented. That is primarily because I’m allergic to most of the scents that are used in them. I simply cannot share in the same sense of joy others experience except to look forward to Heaven when all this will be cured. I am certain that I will enjoy any candles that burn there!

* I liked, “A candle is not diminished when it is used to light another candle. One of the firefighters I work with is my “go to” guy, when I have a question about the Bible or anything spiritual. He has a way of explaining things to me that just helps make sense. I have often pondered the thought of organ donations if I am killed or die. I asked him about it and his answer was this, “God put the breath of life into us and as a Christian it is the Spirit of Jesus Christ living in us. What could be a greater gift than to give something to someone who has need of it. This to me rings of “A candle is not diminished when it is used to light another candle.” I believe that by donating an organ or cornea or whatever when our time comes to meet the Lord that we are “Lighting another candle.” We no longer will have a need for the shell that our soul is in, and if some part of it can help another I think this is a good thing.

* When I married B__, I found myself in a ready-made family and step mother to 3 wonderful kids (18, 14, 13). Their mother had passed away 3 years earlier from cancer. When R__, then 13, was helping his Dad and me move my stuff into their home, he commented on the number of candles, candle holders, wall sconces, etc. that I had. He asked me “Don’t you ever light them?” To be honest, I hadn’t even really thought about it before. They were just something to set around and look at. His innocence and eagerness to please me endeared me quickly to R__. I made him a promise that we would light them on Christmas. So, for the past 8 years, B__ and I rise early, bring every candle we can dig up (and a few oil lamps, too) into the living room and light them.

     I will never forget the look on the kids’ faces when they went into the living room that very first Christmas morning with nothing but the Christmas tree lights, oil lamps and candles lighting the room and Christmas music playing on the stereo. I imagine we will all have that same look of wonder as we enter the gates of Heaven for the first time. Although the surprise has long past (they EXPECT it now!), it’s a tradition that we cherish and one that I hope will be passed down for my 3 grandchildren (6 years, 5 years, 10 months) to enjoy.

* The candles that we produce always will find a way to get lit; however, the sad part is that that favorite candle seems to burn out after a while no matter how many other candles it has lit. However, the flame that comes from God’s burning passion never extinguishes and cannot ever be used up.

     Praise be to God Whose flame burns bright and lights our way. The cool thing is that He gives us that flame for us to use in this world in hopes that flame will be used for His purpose. What a God of love!

* I, too, like candles, and my wife is nuts about them. I especially like the ones made from paraffin as they burn longer and cleaner. The analogy you drew from the candles reminds me of something I heard a few years ago. As a candle is a light in a dark room, we are to be lights in a dark world. The parable told about not hiding a candle under a bushel means we are not to hide our “light”, either.

     The light we get from God is to fill us to overflowing, and like a single candle can transform a dark room into a haven of light, so we, too, can transform a corner of the world into a haven of light, if we allow ourselves to shine. The more we give of this light from God to others, the more He sends us.

* Excellent piece! I was at Rockefeller Center to see the tree this past Sunday and was very impressed with the kindness shown by the mobs of people there. We also attended St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and many were lighting candles for special intentions from other candles. I myself did this. I took the light from someone’s candle and made my own light, and the next person did the same~~it went on and on and on! He said, “I Am the light of the world”, and that He is “The Prince of Peace!”

* Just yesterday, M_____, my assistant and I were talking about candles. I said that there should be a “chocolate chip cookie” fragrance candle. M_____ said that there was … she had even seen a “hot cinnamon rolls” and another fragrance “butter creme” that smelled just like Mom’s kitchen. Every season of the year brings with it the sights, sounds and smells…ours to enjoy I suppose. My very favorite candle is mulberry…can’t tell you why.

* Hmmmm. I’ll have to think about that one. Depends on what you mean by “diminished”. As the candle gives off light, its wax IS melting away. I know that being God’s vessel means letting His gifts flow through me. But sometimes in the process it does take some of my own energy. I receive great joy and God’s strength in the midst of it, but I also pay a price.

     But, it’s true, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.” It’s His light shining from my candle, and HE is never diminished!!!

* I, too, love candles. Just tonight I acquired three more. Each one has a designer scent: Black Forest, Banana Split, and Lemon Meringue! I have Black Forest lit right now and it smells sooo good!

      We played that “White Elephant” gift game where everyone brings a small gift for the exchange. As the game progresses the trading can go on and on i f you allow any number of changes per round! I “took” the candles from someone else and was thrilled that no one else wanted them!

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