Candle on the Water

My dear friends, have you ever heard a song that truly touched your heart, where all you could hear was the voice of God speaking to you? Well, as corny as it may sound, I know this has happened to me on several occasions. Mind you, I'm quite an emotional individual, and as it is characteristic of women, I do see, hear, and experience life from an emotional standpoint, always looking for and adding deeper meaning behind every circumstance and person I encounter, whether ordinary or extraordinary. You might call it a gift, but sometimes, it is a burden, for it does make the heart heavy and fill it with such bittersweet sorrow. On a lighter note, viewing life from an emotional standpoint does add much beauty, romance, and hope to life that would be bland and bleak without it.

I discover a lot of beauty, romance, and hope when I hear a beautiful song, usually a song that makes me think of God to some extent. One such song is the Academy Award nominated song, "Candle on the Water." It is a song from one of my favorite Disney movies as a child called "Pete's Dragon." The song is set on the balcony of a lighthouse in which Nora (played by Helen Reddy) and her father live. In this song, Nora is singing to her long lost love at sea, whom she believes will one day return to her. In this song, you can hear the heartache, yearning, and beckoning of a woman in love with a man who is far away from her, but she stands firm in her faith and hope that no matter where he is or what trouble he is facing, she'll always be his guiding light and will never give up on him, that he will return to her someday. When I hear this song, I cannot help but begin to cry, because all I can hear is the longing love of God, for He constantly reassures us that He will never abandon us and will always light our way, especially during our darkest times, when perhaps we have drifted far away from Him. No matter how far away we are from Him, He loves us so deeply and is ever faithful. He will always be our rescuer and safeguard, never ceasing His search for us and never giving up hope on us.

Hence, here are the words to "Candle on the Water." I'll leave it now to your own interpretation.

I'll be your candle on the water
My love for you will always burn
I know you're lost and drifting
But the clouds are lifting
Don't give up you have somewhere to turn

I'll be your candle on the water
'Till ev'ry wave is warm and bright
My soul is there beside you
Let this candle guide you
Soon you'll see a golden stream of light

A cold and friendless tide has found you
Don't let the stormy darkness pull you down
I'll paint a ray of hope around you
Circling in the air
Lighted by a prayer

I'll be your candle on the water
This flame inside of me will grow
Keep holding on you'll make it
Here's my hand so take it
Look for me reaching out to show
As sure as rivers flow
I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go...