“No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.”
Matthew 5:15
There it was – finally! My requested mail-in ballot for the upcoming election had arrived. Holding that thick blue envelope in my hands I felt an unexpected wave of emotion and breathed through deep sobs. I’ve voted in nearly every election since I was 20 years old and have always felt the responsibility to do so. But this is the first time I’ve felt the profound sacredness of casting a ballot. Why so tender? I think because it has become clear through these recent months that “ballots don’t grow on trees.” They grow from our knowing that we are Divine ideas in the Mind of God who are here to express the highest and best. They grow from our willingness to make love visible and unity heard. They grow from our courage to let our light shine, to be ourselves, and insist on being heard and seen.
It takes a bit of daring to be the unique you that you are. Not everyone will see you, not everyone will value you, not everyone will agree with you. But what is the alternative? None of us can afford to put our light under the bushel basket. In that airless space it is likely to sputter and dim. And because we are filled with so much joy and energy our light will gleam through the seams a bit anyway. We may as well choose to hold it as high as possible and let its brightness sparkle. Being you lives across all aspects of your life—knowing your emotions, what you like and dislike, knowing who you are and are not, expressing your thoughts with love, developing and giving of your talents. Everything you do that supports you becoming aware of yourself and nurturing and expressing that self sends out a ray of light. In a sense everything you do that expresses you is a sacred ballot that you are casting for your holy self.
In this season of election here in the U.S., when you cast your ballot for the candidates of your choice, realize that who you are truly voting for is yourself. Every ballot is sacred for it symbolizes your right and responsibility to be you, to seek highest guidance, to choose, and to express. Let your unique and beautiful lamp shine fully and give light to all in the house.
In the Love and Light of the Christ,
Rev. Anna
