About this episode

The episode reflects on the metaphor of light in relation to family, faith, and guidance.

Matthew 5:16 (NRSV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. My brother and I used to spend whole summer days at my great-aunt Gladys' place in upper East Tennessee, gone from just after breakfast until the cowbell rang. She'd ring it from the porch when supper was ready, and the sound would carry up the holler however far we'd wandered. Gladys wasn't just an aunt who happened to have a huge house and what seemed like a million acres. My grandmother — my father's mother — died when he was a teenager, and her sister Gladys was the one who stepped into the gap, for him and eventually for all of us. Nobody required that of her. She just did it, summer after summer. We'd start back, cutting through brush and tree line, not always sure which direction the house actually was. But then we'd see the light. It wasn't some bare bulb over the screen door. There was a spotlight up there that could've guided a plane in. I was sure you could see it from the moon. Aunt Gladys wasn't standing under it, waving us home. She was probably back in the kitchen. The light was just on, doing its job at full power…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jim Stovall, Greta Smith

Topics covered

• light
• family
• faith
• guidance
• community

Keywords

• light
• faith
• family
• community
• guidance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: First United Methodist Church

Places: Tennessee, Maryville

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