A Little Bit Of Light [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

The holiday around our house is like a daily treasure hunt. I never see her do it, I never catch her in the act, but each day, a bauble or bulb or ornament shows up on a windowsill or in a flower pot or hanging from a shelf in the kitchen. A little bit of light found in an unlikely place.

Today is the eve of Christ mass. It is also the eve of Hanukkhah. It is the eves-eve of Kwanzaa. A birth, the rededication of a temple of belief, a celebration of culture. Symbols and rituals of hope and renewal, showing up everywhere. A little bit of light popping up in kitchens and family rooms, places where people gather when they are seeking light and love.

A few years ago she wrote a song in what seemed to me only a minute or two. She needed another piece for a cantata she was rehearsing and couldn’t find anything that she liked. It’s called “You’re Here”. It exists only in the roughest of recordings. I caught it on my iPhone. This morning, while searching for another piece of music, we came across it and, as is true every time I hear it, I was saddened that this little bit of light is not known far and wide. A song of brokenness healed. A sunrise. A wish of hope.

I’ve posted it before – probably this time last year. But this morning, given the brokenness of our nation, the dedicated us-and-them-ness, the splintering of family, pundits and politicians fueling-rage-for-gain…I found it much more relevant now than when she wrote it.

If it is not of your faith tradition, you only need listen beneath the words to find the purity of her intention. A little bit of light found in an unlikely place.

Merry eve. Happy eves-eve.

You’re Here © 2018/2024 Kerri Sherwood

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Welcome The New Day [on KS Friday]

Strip the religiosity out of the word ‘Alleluia’ and you’re left with its essence: a sunrise. Pure and simple.

Last year – a decade ago – Kerri needed a song for her cantata. She noodled for a few minutes. There was a phrase. A line of music. The next day she said, “What about this?” She played and sang. Magic. I took out my phone and recorded it. “Someday,” I tell her, “someday we’ll record it in a studio.”

She sings of our broken lives, our shattered hearts. Strip the religiosity from it and her song is about tension seeking resolution. Natural order. Basic physics. Broken lives and shattered hearts seek wholeness. Sunrise. A new day. Pure and simple.

Joy does not have to complicated. No symphonic soundtrack necessary. No fireworks required. Yesterday, after spending a few moments with her son in Chicago, we drove the back roads home. It was dark. Gently snowing. She was heart-warm after having received the single item on her wish list. A few moments. No more. No less. Joy, like the first quiet rays breaking over the horizon, announcing a new day.

Years ago, decades ago, standing in the self-made-wreckage of my life, I sent a change of address card to friends so they’d know where I was. An arrow pointing to the earth. “I’m here,” it read.

We’re here. A new day. Pure and simple. Alleluia.

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read Kerri’s blog post about YOU’RE HERE

you’re here ©️ 2019 kerri sherwood

rest now ©️ 2016 david robinson