Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
And thick darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will arise upon you,
And his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your dawn. . .
Isaiah 60:1-3, plus three more verses, orients us, helps us move from Christmas to Epiphany. The visitors come and see this little child, a holy One, bringing him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
I find great comfort and joy in “arise, shine, for your light has come.” Light is a source of comfort for every child who finds themselves in the dark. Light is powerful in changing our perspective. Light immediately brings relief, shows us something we didn’t see before.
Two nights ago I slept with a back door, that leads to a screened in porch, open. And whenever I do, there is always a light that pierces through the darkness from the neighbor’s house. This light hits me right in the eye. It can keep me awake or awaken me when I roll over. It can annoy me greatly when I’m trying to sleep.
How powerful is a Light that awakens? How powerful is a Light that changes my perspective? What kind of Light comforts? How wild is a Light that annoys me when I’m trying to sleep? Well, a bright Light, it seems, is quite powerful, amazing, perspective and life-changing. May the Light come into your life to guide, change, annoy, and awaken you this year!
Peace, 
Tara
In January:
+ I look forward to seeing you and your leaders on January 9th for Leadership Training online. Please register if you haven’t already done so. (register here)
+ Pastoral Consultation appointments continue throughout the month and into early January. Please check your conference email for places and times!
+ My great hope is that we will have gatherings, in person, for both pastors and lay leaders in February. By mid to later in the month, we hope to have small group (25 or less) gatherings in sufficiently large places to worship, re-member, re-connect and look forward together. Thank you for your patience as we navigate the world in which we are living.
If you would like to view past editions of Time with Tara, follow this link:
https://harbordistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/