When we moved into our fixer-upper in July we decided to systematically tackle our renovations one room at a time. Initially we unpacked the bare necessities. We didn’t worry with decorating, knowing we would eventually get to each room and make it our own. However, it wasn’t long until I realized that, regardless of our initial plans, new curtains were a must.
The previous owners had left their window-coverings and while the colors were not what I would have chosen for myself they did their job in keeping our personal life private. I hadn’t thought twice about them until I noticed how dreary our house felt and how blue I felt as a result. It truly was amazing what $30 in white Wal-Mart sheers did for our home and my emotional health. I’ve thought about those curtains over and again from many months because Light Really Does Matter.
Light and darkness in the physical certainly begs that we also consider light and darkness in the spiritual. In the Bible John (John 1) describes Jesus as Life and The Light to live by. While He came as a human into darkness (this world) He was in no way influenced by the dark. He was and is (as Divinity) the absence of darkness in the world and is our refuge.
I was truly grateful for light this past week when my family experienced our first blizzard. Not only were we unable to see much past our windows but the sunshine we’re so use to was absent. Without the sun, cold and confusion were certainly forces to be reckoned with.
I’ve certainly been challenged with situations in my life (and find that I face them often) where cold and confusion have set in. It often enters quietly, through a cracked window or a door left ajar, and it creeps along, unnoticed, until I finally notice frostbite. But Jesus, as Life and The Light in the darkness, offers an answer.
In honor of our blizzard I read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter. It’s hard to imagine life in 1881’s Dakota Territory with 4 day blizzards, one right after another for months on end. Even more difficult to imagine would be lighting the evening lamp only in emergencies, rationing kerosene, knowing the supply train would not run again for months. How precious light would have been and how precious Jesus, The Light of our world, truly is.
When I walk with The Lord, relying on Him as The Light, I avoid stumbling. The confusion I feel in the darkness abates and the cold of despair thaws. My thoughts are clear, joy is restored and my hope is renewed. Join me as we shake off the cold and confusion and look to The Lord as our Light in the darkness this year. Happy 2016!
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