Window Glare

I was in my car on my way back to work during one of those rare sunny days we’ve had this month and I came up to a stop light. Right across the intersection was a car who seemed to slowly move right into the spot where the sun was shining the brightest and send those rays of light beaming right into my pupils. It was painful and there was nothing I could do to get away from it, except squint and turn my head. Of course, turning my head would lead to me missing the light change, so I decided to bear it.

In that moment, though, I had two somewhat profound (for me at least) besides the fact that I should have worn my sunglasses. The first thought is this: this is glimpse of God’s glorious light and I’m called to be that car! Okay, so maybe not that car exactly, but I’m supposed to be reflecting God’s glorious light to the world and I should not be seen. When I looked at that car, even for the briefest second that I could, I didn’t see the windshield or the person inside, I saw the light. The car was simply receiving the light and passing it on in all its splendor. When people see me on the street, when they talk to me in my house, when my kids work with me on their school work or when we make cookies, do they see me, or do they see God working through me? Do they get a glimpse of God’s love pouring out of me into the world or do they get a glimpse of selfishness and anger?

The second thought I had was that despite the imperfections of the car (certainly, this car wasn’t perfectly clean and free from scratches), God was still able to radiate. And so there is a message of hope in here. Despite our imperfections and despite our moments of selfishness and anger, God can still use us and wants to use us to help spread His Love and Mercy and Hope to everyone we meet. Certainly, as was the case when that light hit me, people may be uncomfortable with seeing Christ’s love and light. Some people may even reject it (it certainly was the case when Jesus walked the earth), but we are called to shine nonetheless. Because even when I turned my head, I could still feel the warmth of that light and I knew that it was truly there no matter where I looked.

So, it is my prayer, that throughout the coming Advent season, as we await the coming of Christ’s light into this world, we are all able to prepare ourselves to be the bearers of this great and glorious light and that we are able to carry it boldly to all the people we meet.

God, grant us the grace to be your windshields. 🙂