Glitter on the Floor
Sitting alone in my living room early Christmas morning with no lights on except for the tree, I noticed little shimmers and sparkles all over my rug. The day before, my girls had spilled glitter everywhere in our craft room, and we had all unintentionally tracked it throughout the house. When all the lights are on and the room is filled with light, I don’t notice the glitter. But when the room is shrouded in darkness, these little pieces of glitter reflect the light from the tree.
These sparkles scattered throughout my rug remind me of the Saints. They are shining examples to all of us of how we can reflect God’s light in the world. We are all called to holiness, all called to be saints. As 2025 winds down to a close, I have noticed many people writing and sharing that this year has seemed very dark to them. Whether or not they write and share about it, there are always people around us living in darkness. Perhaps it is the darkness of grief or of shame. Maybe it is the darkness of loneliness or dreams that seem unachievable. One person, reflecting on the year that has been, might come to the conclusion that they haven’t accomplished as much as they had hoped to do. Whatever the cause of darkness, if we look for it, we might just find glitter on the floor.
There are living saints all around us. You know the ones. The friend who refuses to let you wallow in despair. The neighbor who you rarely see, but when you do, he lets you know that he has been praying for whatever it is that has been weighing on you. And you know he means it. We are called to be lights for one another, but none of us can bring light on our own. We are the glitter, not the tree. The only way for us to bring light to others is to find our way closer to God. The closer we get to Him, the brighter we can shine for others. So, maybe this coming year instead of focusing on how we much we can achieve for ourselves or how many people we can help through the great things we plan to accomplish, we should pause and consider how we can grow closer to God this year. Perhaps this is the year you will truly begin and end every day in conversation with God. Maybe this is the year you stop endlessly asking for things and give God the chance to answer you. It might just turn out he’s been answering you all along, if only you’d quieted your heart enough to hear it. It could be that he has been speaking to you in snowflakes when you were waiting on words. Perhaps you feel called to go to Confession for the first time in too long or to get back to consistently attending Mass. Whatever the case may be, I personally invite you to embrace your calling to be a Saint this year. And may I say, I can’t wait to watch how you sparkle.
