I Am A Candle

Inspired by:
The Wisdom Way of Knowing by Cynthia Bourgeault
One of my favorite literary images, and one that I’ve read time and again, is that of someone waiting at home for a long-absent loved one, candle burning in the window. That candle shines bright, spilling its beacon of light out into the dark night, staving away all that is evil in hopes that those gone will make it home.

Do you own candles?
I personally am addicted to them. I love everything about them – the different scents, colors, jars, shapes… the living light that they give off as they flicker away…. The comforting warmth they bring…. I just love candles.

Have you ever thought about the life of a candle? So much work goes into their creation…. Melting, coloring and scenting the wax, then molding it into the shape that is most appropriate for that one candle. Forming the wick, getting it inserted just so. All that time, all that work, getting the candle ready to be.

Here’s my question – why do we have candles? What is their purpose for being?
Sure, some of them are meant to just look pretty, or smell pretty, but the basic purpose, the basic reason the candle is created is to provide light. Only, the candle is unable to fulfill that purpose for quite some time. The candle spends most of its life being prepared to be ready for this purpose.

When it is finally time for the candle to do what it is meant to do, it is completely dependent upon another source of fire to be lit. It must wait for something else to come, something else to provide the fire, to become what it is meant to become. Then, as it is finally lit, with wick burning bright and wax becoming fluid and slowly melting away, the candle gets the chance to live, to be what it is supposed to be, to give as only it can truly give.

There are very few things in this world that can change what they are, that change their shape, form, and being. Water is one of the most notable – moving constantly from liquid to solid to gas, around and around, providing sustenance in every form. We drink it when we are thirsty, bathe in it when dirty, cool ourselves with it when we are hot, and soothe ourselves with it when we are weary. Candles also transformed themselves – changing from what would seem to be a fairly useless decorative item to something that speaks of calm, safety, warmth, and home. We, as humans, are also something that can and should change completely, just like that candle. We are born into this world un-formed. We must be molded, shaped, given the tools to eventually provide light to others. Malachai 3:6 says that “Nothing has to be permanent except the Lord… only He changes not.” When the flame of the Spirit finds us, we are meant to give and change everything we are to share the warmth, light, and faith with all who surround us. Just like the candle.

There is, however, something to remember about the candle. To reach its true potential, the candle has to give completely of itself. The wick burns down, slowly disappearing into ash. The wax melts, loosing its beautiful shape and scent, becoming unrecognizable from what it originally was. The candle, and all that it was meant to be, slowly burns out. It leaves only one thing behind – the memory of those beautiful, flickering moments of warmth and safety. Those memories, which can only be provided by the candle, are never forgotten, forever providing moments of comfort, of learning, of leaning, and of holiness.