Sunday Scripture

~Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ~

Romans 12:9-12

The Light Keeper

Some seasons of darkness last longer than others. Some seem to pass like the tide, waves washing quickly, clearing out sand and seashells, making all things new.  Others, linger uninvited.  Hanging around like a virus, seeping through pores, invading the insides.  When all you can whisper is an, “I’m too weary, I need your strength” before slipping off cliff, legs kicking wildly, stomach sinking, falling endlessly, throat raw from screaming. 

I’m fortunate, beyond measure, to have a good dad. He’s got my back when it's a target. He oversees from a distance, and comes in close when I flounder. He believes in me. And if that isn’t fortune enough, he's handy to boot. When you own a three-quarters of a century home, this is more than useful when sinks get plugged, furnaces falter, and electrical seems to be a science experiment in the making.

And today I watched him, up on the ladder, clenched hands and fingers, tired from arthritis holding the light fixture, turning the screws. What should have been an easy project, turned into a three hour challenge, with muddled instructions, and Youtube how-to's on stand by as we installed a new chandelier in my new dining room.

As his hands shook, and his breath became heavy, I became overwhelmed by the time that he took, the time that he takes, to bring light into my world.

And what an example, of how God does too.  To be the keeper of the light. To illuminate our darkness. To stay steady when all beneath is quaking.  To create new paths even when shadows are cast. To unravel confusion and clear out the mud and mire.  And beyond that, to love us completely.

Today my earthly father, pointed me back to my heavenly father who came and still does come, to bring us light.

~ I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16