We publish a monthly newsletter from our church, and this is the brief article I shared as an encouragement during the season of Lent 2021. As I was typing it, I thought to myself, “This would make a good blog post, too!” And I just love candles. I really do. (As evidenced by the number of candle pictures I post on this blog.) And, as I mention in the following article, the dear friend who makes candles is the lovely lady behind The Sudsery Soap Studio. Check out her gorgeous candles and soaps on her gorgeous website at http://www.thesudserysoapstudio.com. Light a candle. Take a soothing bath. Love yourself, and love others. We’re going to get through this together.

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            One evening, recently, I lit one of my favorite candles and put it on the kitchen counter. Just because I love candles. There’s something so special for me about lighting a candle . . . seeing a blackened wick change and burst forth with a golden glow. And, over time, the wax surrounding the wick starts to melt and pool, and a warm, beautiful fragrance starts to fill the room and wrap around me like a hug. I especially love this particular candle, because 1) my talented and creative friend made it and 2) the scent is spicy and sweet and cozy, like toasting marshmallows over a campfire. The ironic thing, though, about my lighting of this candle is . . . I can’t smell it now! I lost my sense of smell and taste with my recent bout with COVID. I knew that, the other evening, but I lit the candle anyway. 

            Perhaps this will be my guiding thought for this Lent of 2021. The world might seem dark. We’ve lost things, great and small. But we light the candle anyway. Because it sends out light and hope. It creates warmth—even if just a little bit. It offers the promise of a lovely fragrance—even if we can’t experience it right now. Even if we can’t experience it quite yet. It reminds us of people and things we love, and it sparks a sense of community across time and space. So we light the candle anyway.

            Friends, let’s journey through this Lenten season together. Even if the days seem dark, we walk together and we walk with God. We learn and grow together as we go. And let us fix our eyes on the hope ahead. Let us light our candles . . . anyway.