Small Paper Lanterns

Sometimes it takes only one phrase of a hymn to carry me through the week and that’s what happened for me this past Sunday. We sang the hymn, “God of the Bible.” (I’ll include all the lyrics for the word nerds.)

While it wasn’t the first time we’ve sung it, the song is still in the new-to-me song category of our relatively new hymnal. My brain snagged again on a line that has caught my attention before, “small paper lanterns, lighting the way.”

I find this a rich and beautiful metaphor. I picture a nighttime garden with flickering paper lanterns lining a path enticing me along paths or into corners I might otherwise have avoided. Paper lanterns are by definition fragile, easily destroyed by the elements. They don’t last long because of their fragile nature, so I can’t depend on them forever. But this song reminds me of their strength—our strength.

In general, lights have the power to draw our interest. When I drive at night and look across a landscape with small, scattered lights, I find myself drawn toward them. I imagine walking along in the dark and hoping for some human to be there. The light reassures me. I am not alone. Lights also lead, showing the way ahead whether they be streetlights, headlights, flashlights–even paper lanterns.

As I sat in church, I looked at all the flickering candles, lit in remembrance of loved ones—it being All Saints Day. I began to think of the “small paper lanterns” in my life, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, sisters, close friends. While their influences in my life have been big, I see their weaknesses as well. Like paper lanterns, they are fragile, and yet their influence has been great.

On this Wednesday morning after the election, I identify with the metaphor even more deeply. I feel like a paper lantern—fragile, full of grief, without power or influence. But I feel too the challenge of the metaphor. Looking at the enormity of the suffering and wrong in the world, can I accept my fragility and smallness? Can I trust that my small wick, inside a paper shade will help light the way even for myself, let alone others? What will it mean in the coming days to be a small paper lantern? I remind myself and will continue to do so that I am not a solitary lantern. There are others around me, and this work of lighting the way we do together.

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kathiekurtz

18 Comments

  1. Dorothy Jean Weaver on November 6, 2024 at 11:52 am

    Thank you, Kathie! I needed your words on precisely this morning . . . .

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:35 pm

      You are welcome! The words of that song seem written for today, for this time in our lives.

  2. Barbara Gascho on November 6, 2024 at 11:57 am

    Thank you, Kathie. Powerfully rich and comforting words on this post Election Day.

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:39 pm

      Thanks, Barb, I think many of us are searching for comforting words today–and they are there, all around us. A friend posted a familiar Wendall Berry poem about finding peace in the natural world, and another a Thomas Merton piece. And there are many more, I’m sure.

  3. Lois Bethea on November 6, 2024 at 12:40 pm

    Powerful!

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:32 pm

      I agree–it is a powerful image. How intertwined true power and vulnerability are.

  4. Shirlee K. Yoder on November 6, 2024 at 12:53 pm

    YES! Powerful and reassuring metaphor. Lord have mercy on all of us feeling like small paper lanterns on this…day after!

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:28 pm

      Yes, I agree. It is both a distressing feeling and a place of peace.

  5. Keaton Shenk on November 6, 2024 at 1:32 pm

    Thank you, Kathie!

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:34 pm

      It was part of our corporate worship, so thanks to the planners as well.

  6. Linda Hollinger on November 6, 2024 at 1:57 pm

    We sang God of the Bible on Sunday also. Your words are timely and comforting while pointing forward. Thank you. I will never think of a paper lantern in the same way.

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:33 pm

      Interesting that we both sang the same song. And yes, that is an image that will forever be different for me as well.

  7. Ruth Umble on November 6, 2024 at 3:58 pm

    This is very good for this day. maybe it can be a small paper lantern for others of us.
    Best Wishes,

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:30 pm

      The only problem (well, there are lots of bigger ones) is that I can’t get that song out of my mind.

  8. Pat Martin on November 6, 2024 at 4:19 pm

    Well said my good friend.

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 5:30 pm

      Thanks, my dear friend. I’m grateful for you listening to my distress today.

  9. Saloma Furlong on November 6, 2024 at 6:10 pm

    Kathie, this is beautiful, thoughtful, and insightful and just what I needed today. I sent the link to several friends, and they also were touched by your inspiration.

    Thank you for lifting up our spirits!

    • kathiekurtz on November 6, 2024 at 7:05 pm

      Thanks, Saloma, for your kind words. It seems that it is what I needed today as well. When I started the article several days ago, it had a different trajectory, focusing on people in my life, but this morning the focus shifted. Amazing how words can speak to us differently at different times.

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