Light of the World

My mother was raised by alcoholics. Her dad was a traveling salesman (and philanderer) and her mother could sometimes be found wandering the street drunk in a housecoat. My mom was the oldest of three and she often brought her mother home and put her to bed. (I learned this from my uncle). Bill collectors called the house so often that the family didn't answer the phone unless you knew the code -- call, let it ring twice, hang up, call again. If you didn't know the code, your call was not answered.

My grandfather was a traveling salesman and the family didn't own a home, they rented. When renting the family roots didn't run deep. The family picked up and moved quite often. My mother went to 12 elementary schools by the time she was in sixth grade. I can't imagine what it would be like to start over that many times...

My mom gave my daughter (her first grandchild) a very special gift for her First Holy Communion. She gave her a picture called "Light of the World" by Charles Bosseron Chambers. This picture was a special gift. I remember seeing it hanging in the hall of our home as I grew up. We would tuck palms we got from church on Palm Sunday behind the frame. When I would see the picture in the hall it always brought me comfort and calm. It wasn't until my mom gave this picture to my daughter that I learned the story of what it meant to her.
My mom told my daughter that she had moved often as a child. She said that sometimes it could have felt like she didn't have a home since they were moving so very often. But, she said, she hung this picture in every house and apartment where she ever lived. She would get home from school and look at that picture and then she would know she was home. No matter where her family lived, it was always home when this picture of Jesus hung on her wall. She thought it would be good if her granddaughter had this picture hanging on her wall.

My daughter had no idea what a treasure she was getting. She thought it was a cool picture, but she had no idea how important this symbol of home was to her grandmother as a child raised in chaos. She had no idea how much this picture meant to me, and how grateful I was that it would hang even temporarily in my home (until my dear child moves out into her own home someday).
I had stared at my mom when she told the story of seeing this picture and knowing she was home. She said she didn't need it anymore, but that she thought my daughter would like it on this very special occasion of her First Holy Communion.

She was right. It was special. We lost my mom less than a year later to cancer. We had no idea at the time that it was coming back. This was one prized possession that was passed on to a specific person -- Mom never had the time to make specific bequeaths of any other item that she owned.

My mother's namesake will be baptized in a few weeks. I have searched out and found another vintage print of this work for my niece. I will write her a letter explaining the way it symbolizes home and God's love. I am happy to pass this special gift along to her with other more traditional gifts. I have always loved this "Light of the World." I hope my niece does too.

An interesting story here if you want to more more about "Light of the World." It was one of the most popular religious prints of the 20th century. My mom's print looks like a painting more than the print above. It may be a common picture, but it is very special to us. I hope it becomes special to my niece mom's namesake as wall.

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life."" -- 12th verse chapter VIII, St. John.