Recognize the Spark

Recently, I was asked a question. 

How do you feel loved and connected?

I had answered “my family.” But I didn’t mean only the family of blood I have that is dispersed all over the United States, but the family I have made as well, who continue to bless me and keep me on this path I am on with encouragement and love. They keep me going just as much as my family of blood does.

I have a very large family of choice, extending even further than my family of blood does. After all, I try to accept all. I try to love all. I try to recognize the divine in everyone, because to me, there is a small spark of God that lives in each of us. We each are his handiwork, so it’s not difficult for me to see that and love that about others.

It’s in this season of Christmas that I tend to recognize the divine in everyone. It’s why I have written over 270 holiday cards this season. It’s why I spend time each week making sure others know they are loved with a card or note to celebrate good news or sympathize with bad news. It’s why I care so much when injustices are being done, no matter where they are. It’s why I will highlight some of them now.

I see the sparks of the Divine creator in everyone.

When I see that spark, I can’t ignore the fact that some live in poverty. Over 126 families were served by the Norwalk Area Ministerial Association in their Warrior Giving Project this past month (click here to read a blog on that). Without the generosity of those who have recognized that spark of love, those living penuriously would not be able to celebrate Christmas.

When I see the spark in others, I can’t help but rage against the atrocities of war. As fighting continues in both Ukraine and Palestine and the casualty tolls of innocents continue to rise, nations are calling for the wars to end. As stories emerge of soldiers killing civilians and even some of their own in the frenzies to take out the enemies, it’s hard not to weep. As the death tolls rise, one wonders what stories will emerge, giving faces to the nameless and increasing the calls for peace to reign.

When I see the spark, I can’t ignore the turmoil of those women in Texas who have to sue the government just to get clarification for medical care when they could not get abortions for life-threatening conditions amidst laws being passed that keep them from accessing care they need in other places. When one recognizes the divine within others, they reach out in sympathy and are called to help so that others do not have to be on death’s door to finally get the care their doctors insist they need. They speak out, telling their stories and encouraging others to do the same so that the statistics have faces instead of just numbers.

When I recognizes the spark, I can’t help but feel shattered as anti-LGTBQIA+ rhetoric continues to spew forth across the world. As lawmakers propose sweeping bans on everything from medical care for transgendered people to drag shows and education, they show their fear. But those who recognize the spark learn the stories of those who are, in effect, being banned. They embrace those who are marginalized. They learn to love those who may not feel loved by society. And they speak out, offering safe spaces and a little light in a world where suicide rates for those affected are high.

When I recognize the spark, I come to embrace the immigrant and the asylum seeker. There are those that learn the stories of why they are fleeing their homelands, ravaged by conflicts not mentioned in the media. They flee to a country where a famous landmark literally reads ….

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

~ Part of the poem “The New Colossus” written by Emma Lazarus, 1883, that is on a plague on the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, New York

and yet are not embraced because odious rhetoric claims they are less than human because they break the laws that were enacted to keep them out because they look different than the status quo. There are those that see them and hear them and work with them to become citizens and friends, neighbors and countrymen in a land created by immigrants.

It’s seeing the sparks even in those we cannot get along with and working to at least try to find the magic in a moment, the love and peace and joy and hope that this season brings.

Dear friends, let me ask you. What makes you feel loved? And what could you do to help others feel more loved and connected to this world? Imagine if we all saw the divine spark in each person. Wouldn’t the world be a better place?

Make connections. Learn stories. And try to find that magical spark in everyone.

Stay magical.

Write your own story.

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