“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be opened.”  Ephesians 1:18

“And you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”  Mary Oliver

“Praise the Lord . . . Praise him, O sun and moon.  Praise him, all you shiny stars.”  Psalm 148

Luceat Lux Vestra : “Let Your Light Shine”

I am not a believer . . . in Daylight Savings Time.  It is an antiquated idea, initiated to give farmers more daylight while working in their fields.  No one needs that anymore.  It is merely a minor annoyance now.

This morning I woke up late, just before the new sunrise time.  I hadn’t slept well and was lacking an inspirational topic for this blog.  I sat in the pre-dawn darkness sipping my coffee, my spirit unsettled.  And then it happened.  The sun, which had been hiding, or perhaps peeking up over the horizon, began to brilliantly shine through the large bay window.  The rays were beaming almost directly into my eyes.  It was glorious!  I sat enamored with this heavenly gift delivered not at my doorstep, but through the windowpane.  Just as the sun rays dispelled the new day darkness, so too they dissipated my somewhat sour mood.  I was soaking in light.  It was a gift from God that this time did not go unnoticed.

I badly needed that gift, because as I wrote last week, the darkness in the world has been palpable.  I became fully aware of it in Cambodia.  But it didn’t stay there.  I saw it in so many ways after my return, not only on the national and international stage, but locally and personally.  Though it is difficult to see in the darkness, the darkness is easy to see.  And not just see, but get overwhelmingly lost in.  Ironically, it’s so much more difficult to see the light. 

It was easy, inescapable for me to see the light shining through the window this morning.  But The Divine Light shines brilliantly in so many other ways.  The problem is I’m not aware of it.  The psalmist speaks of the sun, moon, and stars.  Heavenly light.  Mary Oliver’s poem personifies the trees, themselves bathed in light, which invite us to shine in a similar way.  The rays of Divine Light are constantly shining upon us, inviting us to step out of the shroud of darkness which too often defines our life in this world, and dictates our daily moods, and to have our eyes opened to see it.  The radiant light is reflected in the smile of a stranger, the small act of kindness, the laughter of a child, the invitation to share a meal, the embrace of a loved one, the encouraging text or email from a friend, the sun glinting off the snow, soon to be replaced by green tendrils poking through, the scent of spring, the inspirational song or hymn, the taste of coffee or some other food that is delectable . . . and so it goes.  All of these are small, daily delights in which we are bathed.  All that is needed is to remove the blinds that occlude our sight and have the eyes of our hearts opened.

That is what I’m going to do now; step away from this laptop and step outside, into the light, not only to soak in The Light, but in some small way to let The Light shine.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.”  The light flows from their branches.  And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say, “and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”  Mary Oliver