“When he thought of that rapt light being quenched in her eyes he had an uncomfortable feeling that he was going to assist at the murder of something— “
p. 27
Matthew was not thinking of the imposition to himself or Marilla. He was thinking of Anne. He was thinking of what it must be like to extinguish hope. No hope. So grief overwhelms, invades, cooks our meals. Meals that are poison to us. Robbing of hope is a form of murder, however slow it manifests itself—however slow the poison works through our system to do its work.
So we must not quench the “rapt light.” We must point to something greater than what is here, something bigger than ourselves. We must point to the source of the light, which is not just day dreams and childhood visions, but what is behind that kind of vision, that kind of child-like faith.
Jeremiah had hope because the Lord’s lovingkindnesses never ceased. His compassions never failed. His faithfulness was great. For a child to see that kind of “behind-the-scenes faithfulness” requires a model: our own faithfulness. We cannot be perfect, but we can add fuel to the fire of a child’s rapt light by modeling faithfulness, compassion, and mercy.
Anne did not know God’s love until she knew Matthew’s and Marilla’s. However harsh the world was, they left room for her “rapt light” to shine and in turn they gave life.
Lingering Over Leaves 