Light

 December is a month filled with light. It’s everywhere, in every possible colour. Fortunately, one of our neighbours is a churchyard, the other neighbour is the village primary school, so we don’t have the migraine-inducing lights flashing next door!

Where we live, there are no streetlights till you come to the housing estate. Walking the dog in the dark is interesting, as the road isn't very smooth. Goldie often comes along to drop various children of at various clubs, like Scouts or Guides, and we try to pretend we don’t have a problem with walking alone in the dark...

My headtorch is amazing, and it can be charged, which is a must in our family as there’s no way to keep on top of batteries for everything. And we run out energy before we expect to. The torch, I mean. One of Goldie’s favourite games is galloping around a field with her rope ball, in never ending circles, with a very large grin of her face. As she’s young, I watch her like a hawk, or an owl in this case.

With my torch, I can pick her out easily, as she has reflective strips on her harness, and her eyes remind me of the Hound of the Baskervilles. Goldie and I chatter as we walk along once the kids are dropped off. She’s very good at listening and responds by nudging me. I saw other dogs with lights on their collars, so I got Goldie one, which started a whole new conversation.

The collar is wonderful, but will need a lot of work to make it fit. My work, that is. Goldie happily wears it on her back, tucked into her harness. I thought it would be wonderful and light, and it is, but guess what? I can’t really tell what she is doing, only where she is.

 

Goldie and her rope ball, overlooking the Severn, near Stroud

And I told her that her harness was like my stories and me writing to encounter God through it all. You see, when her harness reflects my light, it’s wonderful and safe and helpful. When my writing is my own light, like Goldie’s green light, it needs so much work to actually be a blessing. But it overshadows my light, God’s light. It gets in the way, and looks lovely and bright, but isn’t doing its job properly. Not the right kind of job anyway. I just feel I'm so bright, when all i need to do is reflect His infinite Light.

It’s still fun and still brings joy, but it’s missing something. The most important one is the connection, the oneness and the reflecting of God’s glory and His joy and peace. Goldie’s green light makes me nervous, as it’s not as safe, and I want the best for her. I know God wants my best, not in a harsh way, but the best is so much more fun and brings so much blessing. It’s also not about writing religious things. It’s simply reflecting Him through what I do.

So, when you switch on the hundreds of lights around the house, or just the few candles, may your writing bring joy and light to you and others through you. May you see the path as well as the potholes, and enjoy the wandering alongside God our Heavenly Father, basking in His light and may we walk in the footsteps and blessing of Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, into the new year. This year has been ridiculously fast, so I’m praying for a year where I will enjoy and breathe the days, writing in the Light!

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Because of her interest in writing, Maressa is part of Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion For Writing, an anthology encouraging people to write.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released in 2021, followed by stand-alone novel Burrowed, released in 2022. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.