I have a coworker who lights a candle in his office every day. It makes the entire church smell wonderful, so members are good about gifting him with lovely new candles throughout the year. The last one he used came in the beautiful cranberry colored glass jar, pictured above. I told him to be sure not to throw this one away when he was done with it – that’s a keeper!

Once the wicks were spent, I brought it home to clean it out and found there was enough leftover wax lining the walls of the container to create two new candles in some vintage glassware my mother gave me. I felt like I’d won a little lottery – turning one old candle into two new ones and a beautiful container, to boot. I’ll gift these to my friend/coworker, so we can all enjoy this harvest. Meanwhile, I have the added bonus of yet another metaphor to ponder.

Where can I find new wicks to replace the spent candles inside of me?

Candle wax and containers can be used over and over again, so it’s wasteful and shortsighted to throw them away when they stop working. All they need is a new wick and little effort to make them burn again. I pity the people who’ve tossed me aside, simply because my light grew dim. What a shame they couldn’t appreciate my beautiful container or be bothered to help me replace my wick. They have have no idea the warmth I’m capable of providing.