I would like to speak to two ideas I ran across this past week. One is finding the light in ourselves and sharing it with others. The second one is a collection of defensive weapons from the Bible that we can use when the culture around us tries to tell us who we are or what we are not. I read Michelle Obama’s new book, “The Light We Carry,” to discuss the first idea; the second idea uses quotes from the Bible to help us find our way in a world that fights a man’s faith in God.
I found Mrs. Obama’s book to be very enlightening in that it spoke to so many issues we all faced during and since the pandemic ravaged our world. I have written about how I felt since COVID in several past blogs. The pandemic caused “an extended period of pain, loss, and uncertainty;” (Page 12) it caused us to be more cautious, more fearful, and above all, so very isolated from family, friends, and neighbors. Coming out of COVID, I have struggled to find the light within myself; it’s as though a vicious bug decided to reside in my brain, telling me to be fearful of many things that I would not normally be afraid of. I am just now getting to a place where I can go out to a restaurant, go shopping, or attend church. I’m even a little fearful of singing in performing groups, and I continue to have my private students wear masks to their music lessons. A more precise indicator of that fear was when I had installed a security system in my house since the January 6, 2021 insurrection at our Capitol buildings. That violence seeped into my very core and made me cynical about political chaos in our country and the myriad of problems facing this nation.
Mrs. Obama wrote about recognizing our own light and to be empowered by that act. Only when we learn to foster other people’s light will we be able to re-build “compassionate communities and make meaningful change” (Pages 167-168) in the post-pandemic years. What surprised me about COVID was how vulnerable I began to feel. It was like my worth had been based on my ability to solve problems quickly. Now, I realize in order for me to become whole again, I need to re-build my concepts of striving for a better world and become the bright light I was before the pandemic. I need to renew my light and grow more confident of who I am. When you believe in your own story, you become more confident, more calm, gain more perspectives about life, and grow in your ability to re-connect with others.
Other things were highlighted in “The Light We Carry.” I lost my balance during COVID and lost my ability to analyze my worries and process the fears that grew from them. I need to learn how to deal with fear and how to let my nerves guide me rather than stop me in my tracks. I need to re-learn how my fears have caused me to step back rather than move forward. I also believe that I began to doubt my competence to bounce back after such a long isolated time at home. In learning to understand my doubts, I can re-learn how to deal with those nights when I cannot sleep. Perhaps even more astounding to me was the fact that I’m struggling with taking risks now because I do not want to be run over by terrible consequences.
I can determine what my voice is by what I am and what I have. When I see myself in a more positive way, I have a starting point for changing the world. I need to accept and carry the different parts of who I am with pride. Only after accepting who I am will I be able to help change what the pandemic did to myself, to so many people, and so many societal problems. One thing that hasn’t changed in our country since before the pandemic was our country’s divisions and its inability to work out the problems that need to be worked out together. The political chaos that has resulted since the pandemic has only heightened the pain, hurt, exhaustion, and devastation brought on by not being ready for such a catastrophe on both sides of the coin. In stead of pointing fingers, we need to have plans formulated and put into place for the next such plague.
I like a quote from Mrs. Obama’s book. “It was great to mix our differences with togetherness.” (Page 12) However, during the pandemic, the one place where I could find hope and solace was my church, which was closed for almost two years. During that time, I watched the Max Lucado sermon series and the services from the Washington National Cathedral on the internet. With my tea, I watched the services with as much hope as I could muster and prayed for an early end to COVID. Somehow, I needed the community of followers I found in my church to really find the strength to continue on that path for any extended period of time. I went back to reading the Bible and found comfort for my soul in many of the following verses. I found who I was and could move on in faith that the pandemic would end.
Ephesians 1:5 I am adopted.
Ephesians 1:6 I am accepted.
Ephesians 4:32 I am forgiven.
Ephesians 1:11 I am predestined.
Ephesians 2:6 I am raised and seated in heavenly realms.
Ephesians 2:10 I am created for good works.
1Peter 5:10 I am called to eternal glory.
Romans 8:37 I am more than a conqueror.
John 16:33 I am an over comer.
Hebrews 13:5 I am never forsaken.
God helped me remember who I was and kept me striding forward with as much joy as possible. I sought His pleasure and will; that’s what brought me through until now. Through His Word, I have kept going, sometimes stumbling, but always moving forward. I am beginning to see the light within again, and hopefully, you will too. May our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, walk with all of us towards a brighter future, and may His face shine on a world that needs His love, hope, peace, and grace.
1. Christine Caure, Unshakeable, Zondervan, Grand rapids, Mi., 2017, Page 342.
2. Michelle Obama, The Light We Carry, Crown Publisher, New York, New York, 2022.
Anna Hartt
