Stories: Homeword

Turn On A Night Light

My daughter Mary likes to sleep with a light on. Some nights we leave on the hall light that is just outside her bedroom door. Most nights it is her stereo illuminating her room. Even when it is not playing, it gives off a soft light in the darkness – a glow that changes colors – red, blue and green. But when she needs it, there is a nightlight close by.

Mary is not spooked easily and has never been overly scared of things that “go bump in the night.” She does not awaken frightfully from bad dreams. She has never asked us to stay with her until she falls asleep. A light is just comforting to her – that in the blackness of the night there is a small light pushing the evening ebony into the shadows.

We keep a candle in the kitchen drawer for those occasions when the electricity goes out. As soon as the weather report states that a possible severe thunderstorm is on its way or that a freezing rain may accumulate on electrical lines, we all go into action. The candle comes out of the drawer. Matches are laid at attention. Like armed soldiers taking defensive positions to fortify the camp, we take our places – candle in hand.

It seems there is nothing quite as dark as a house in the middle of the night without electricity. But light the candle, and everything is better. What was once total darkness now seems to glow due to this single wick.

I keep a flashlight in our family car. Early in our marriage, Kathy and I did not have the best of fortune to always own reliable automobiles. In fact, more than once we have been left stranded on the side of the road, sometimes at night.

On more than one occasion, it was our small double “D” battery Rayovac flashlight that saved the day. It was this single small beam of light that served to divert disaster and made uncomfortable situations bearable.

Why is it that in a sea of darkness, a single light shines brightest?

The challenges of life are often referred to as clouds; the devastating times are storms. The hardest periods are known as dark times.

It is good to know that even in the darkest periods of our lives it does not take a lot to cheer the heart and brighten the day with a small ray of hope.

We do not have to wait unprepared to face the “dark times.” We can learn important lessons and place at hand the necessary tools to use as we are guided through the darkness. While the sun shines brightly, we can plant our feet firmly against the gales of life’s most difficult storms.

We must know the truth. First, we do not have to face anything alone – cling to God’s promise of presences.

Next, nothing we face in this life is final. . .our hope is not in the finite, but it rests in the infinite mercy of a great, eternal God.

And finally, every challenge we face will make us stronger if we allow it to do its work. Like the forge fire that shapes and bends steal into plows and swords strong enough to cut the hardest ground or fend off the most opposing foe, dark times temper a spirit making it fit and useful.

The flashlight, the candle, and the nightlight at our disposal inject light into the darkness; knowledge and experience pierce the darkest moments dispelling the heaviness we feel when life’s storms come.

In its many forms, both real and symbolic, light comforts – especially in the dark times. It is no wonder our Lord is known as the “light of the world.”

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