Jan-Marie Gendlin

Light #17

Make me an instrument of peace and strength.

Age: 66
From: Mequon WI
Classification: Other Light-Maker

22 years ago I became a Caring Partner at the Jewish Home and Care Center.
It is a volunteer program dedicated to providing patient advocacy and
emotional support at the end of life. Many days I would visit with more
than one resident and it felt important to emotionally separate each visit.
Just washing my hands between rooms didn’t feel enough, so I developed a
ritual of pausing outside each room, visualizing a lit candle and asking to
be made an instrument of peace and strength. The Legacy Lights and 6 Million Lights remind me of this. They are created with intent and they remind me to live with intent.

Dedication: To Walter Peltz, survivor of the Holocaust and Holocaust educator.