February 17, 2026
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.” ~ Matthew 15:4 NRSVUE
Our youngest granddaughter turned nine last week, and has managed to draw out the excitement from an early morning singing phone call “Happy Birthday to You” from Rod and I, being feted at school by her classmates singing their rendition of “Happy Birthday”, a swim lesson before dinner, followed by one of her favorite meals, McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets, French Fries, a Chocolate Milk Shake and Crepes prepared by her French Papa. The parents put her candle on the lid of this shake and captured the moment in the photo below.
I share it with you, not because she is beautiful and has a contagious smile. My assessment is colored by grandma love. I share it because in these winter days, days of record setting freezing cold, and woes in our nation and the world that seems to have lost their ways, I see light and hope, shining amid a dreary winter evening.
She is embracing this last year of being a single digit old, delighted with simple pleasures, shining along with the candle with a smile to light up and soften even the hardest of hearts. I hope, not because I know that things will get better. I hope because smiles, enthusiasm, dimples, and one brave candle sitting on top of a milk shake remind me that life is worth living, that good prevails, that the smile of one child can melt and enlarge and warm my heart. It doesn’t need to be a big thing. This one smile brings tears of joy to my eyes and hope to my often-world-weary soul.
You are the light of the world to someone. Shine, Anne
Wayfinding 