Word Wednesday

First, thank you for continuing to read, especially after the Music Monday.

Second, in the midst of the struggle, our nature/normal intuition is to seek out the light.  We don't always want to learn to walk in the darkness.  Because of Thomas Edison, we rarely need to.  Every room in my house has the ability for light to flood into any room with the simple flick of a switch.  I don't need to build a fire at night.  I don't need to have a ready supply of candles.  Light is right there all the time.

My mind unconsciously applies value to this reality.  I often think, light is good and dark is not so great.  Yet, night is great for sleeping.  Night is great for seeing the stars.  Night is necessary to really see the way the flames of a fire dance.  Night is helpful for cooling down.  Night is necessary for all of life to slow down.  For example, we know that the grass outside takes in energy from the sun all day, processing that after sunset, to inch its way taller.  You also take the energy from the day and need time to process that...to not just be a human doing, but live into a human being.

The one time we stop, cease, or at least slow down lest we stub our toe on something we can't see is night.

I invite you to think of an experience of light and dark.  When was there a holy moment for each.  For me, I think about campfires at night or sleeping out under the stars.  Some of the most profoundly powerful moments are both light and dark dancing together.

I need both moments of being alert and awake as well as to exist in a space where I have a different pace.  To be sure, we know at night creepy crawly things come out...so we can have a heightened sense fear.  But, we also know that our circadian rhythm needs to stop processing and being productive.

How might you embrace the light of this day?
How might you slow down when the light sets at the end of the day?
How might both offer a trace of God's grace for you?

May God's peace and presence surround you every second this day.