Seeing and Being the Light

Written by Meredith Burke on Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Lonnie Baker, known to many as someone who is not known to many. Lonnie may be known to some as “that man” who sells “those newspapers” on “the street.” To me, Lonnie is known as my friend.

Lonnie and I became friends last winter during a time when I was craving friendship with an honest, genuine person. It was during a time when I had many honest, genuine people in my life but was blinded by my experiences with mental health and was not appreciating or reciprocating my relationships with others. During this time, I did not see God in my life and only saw darkness, when in reality, there was so much light.

Every conversation and interaction with Lonnie restored my sense of be-ing. With frequent spiritual references and his “stick-to-it-iveness,” I called Lonnie the “Living Testament.” Lonnie gave me advice, Lonnie listened, and most importantly, Lonnie loved. And he still does.

During the past few weeks, I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend more time with Lonnie in hopes of sharing more of his story through photographs. We have become better friends and Lonnie has consistently taught me something “en-life-ening” each time we are together.

Lately, I have been looking at life as a compendium of mini moments. It is the mini moments that begin to define the big moments and who one is as a person. It is the mini moments with friends and family, doing what makes you smile (swinging on the playground for me), that begin to restore a sense of light in times when the light might be difficult to see.

I’d like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Leo Buscaglia:

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Questions for reflections:
How do you see God in all beings?
How can you give of yourself to make someone and the world a better place?
What makes you smile?
Who are you going to show “I love you” to today?

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Meredith Burke
Meredith is a person who has found herself to be studying “all of the above.” Ready or not, she will be graduating in the near future with a degree in Environmental Studies and minor in Urban Studies. She currently serves as the Intern for Social Justice at St. Mary’s.  In whatever Meredith does, she hopes to help make smiles among her fellow earthly beings. You can usually spot her wearing polka dots, swinging on the swings at Wurster Park, or becoming friends with every dog in her vicinity.
Email: merburke@umich.edu