I wonder sometimes if we as a nation have forgotten about the courage, resilience, determination, and faith that the Greatest Generation put forth to overcome WWII.  The United States managed to stay out of the war in Europe and in the Pacific until the flood gates were opened with Pearl Harbor.  It seems, today, we take fore granted the light that shines all around us, only to cower when a pandemic puts “black out curtains” on our lives.  I don’t understand why so many Americans want to keep the light dimmed rather than have their lives illuminated by getting vaccinated.

During WWII, along every shore line of our country and around every major industrial area, black out curtains shielded our families and institutions from enemy attacks.  The light became our enemy as many of our family members struggled with the effect of the color of black had on their everyday lives.  Slowly, the lights went out across the nation but not the light of our collective souls.  We survived four long years of war, knowing that the end would bring forth light, hope, and love once again.  Even now, some seventy-six years later, I still love looking out my front window at the newly-fallen white snow because of its purity and its beauty, just like my grandparents did during the war.

I’m reflecting on a paragraph written by Mea Allan, a journalist for London’s Daily Herald, as she watched London go dark at the beginning of WWII.  She said that “the blackout was more than just for war.  It was a fearful portent of what war was to be.  We had not thought that we would have to fight in darkness, or that light would be our enemy.” (The King’s War by Peter Conradi and Mark Logue, page 23) What struck me about the idea of black out curtains is that today, Americans have not learned how important the light is to us as human beings.  We are so divided that many of us are willing to sacrifice our lives for the dark rather than be inspired to keep moving forward towards the light where all things are possible with God’s help.  I would rather walk in the beautiful white snow that covers my front yard this morning than spend my time sloshing through the blackened snow along our highways and the muddied roads.

I know we need to struggle with the mud and the blackened snow to grow as individuals, but I want to see and feel the light at home.  My mother used to say, “The world will know who you are by the way you take care of your property.”  My property is beautiful; there are no black out curtains in my windows.  The light pores into my home, and I know that’s because God has sent His most beautiful light to me, Jesus Christ.  His light is not my enemy; He’s my friend.  One day, I pray that all Americans will take down the black out curtains of their souls and replace them with the light of Jesus Christ.  Only then will the problems we face today, the muddied, blackened snow that darkens our homes, families, and country, be brought into the light from Jesus Christ’s lamp.

Anna Hartt