This little light
I began this year watching the film We Live In Time, a rom drama about a pro chef named Almut who meet cutes a man. They fall in love and the rest is about birth, sickness, hopes, dreams, and the unavoidable fact of death we all face. It wasn’t the greatest thing in the world but it was certainly not the worst. This was after a long string of Top Chef binging and the need for a good ole cry so it may have hit harder because I had hyped it up in my head. Really a look at yearning and grasping and holding the finite life. There’s a bittersweetness of being human and an ultimate sweetness looking forward to eternity as a believer. Almut’s bangs clue us in on where the non linear timeline is and for my “we live in time” I had bangs the whole year and I’ll probably keep em for a long while longer. Cheers to this segment of my timeline because it’s pretty dang sweet and even solemn to realize the Lords hand in it all. The most standout moment in the film is when Almut gives birth in a gas station bathroom on New Years Eve— tender raw humanness. Birth itself is something that is so mysterious. Life from life from lives from our Lord.
(this one review on letterboxd had made me laugh a lil earlier this year. Here’s the thing. I braved the dating apps with zero… negative expectations and came out the biggest winner)
Live for today???? Live for tomorrow?? Stewarding a life well lived and not worrying for tomorrow? And even all the days thereafter. But in a moment of watching a child enter into the world, the joy and trepidation of beholding a new life… and to imagine what might have Mary and Joseph felt… utmost peace… after their own public on the road last resort spot birth.
*
Recently, in my re watch of all the Stranger Things to be caught up for the finale (yet another middling thing from season 3 onward but this write up isn’t about that!!) I saw multiples (multitudes!!!) of a commercial for a med called Caplyta. And the only reason it caught my attention was because of the spin off of the song “this little light of mine” but instead it’s promoting the finding of light in “capLIGHTa” hmmmm. I’m tired of seeing it and the YouTube comments are too.
(facts)
This is less of what I think of meds for mental health and more me wanting to recognize that it struck a sad chord in me the first time I saw it. Now I tune it out as I wait for my 1.5 minutes of ads to waft by because why pay twenty something dollars when I can pay like eight? But the erasure of the heart, the meaning of the song about the gospel and just the absolute confusion of light being dark for some time and light helping you see more light? Weird stuff in a weird world we live in. To put it simply, our only hope and light is in Christ.
*
At our final Advent service last night, my pastor spoke of the weekly lighting of the advent candles for hope, peace, joy, and love. We read scripture. We passed the light around the room symbolizing us taking our light into the world as believers and oh how beautiful seeing the dimmed room light up from small wicks and big hearts. We ate the bread and drank of the cup and remembered the baby born to die.
And may he return again soon.
As a bonus… while searching around about Caplyta I came across this. Merry Christmas :)
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser