While we waited in the growing darkness though we did need some light to do the few things that we could do. We have a camping lantern that I dug out of storage and put a match the mantle and we had light. Light enough anyway to read and to see each other. We drew close to the light and as a result, we drew close to each other.
The light of that lantern was a splash of brilliance against a canvas of darkness. If we wanted to we could take the light with us and we could see, but if we left the reach of that light our path and our vision became dimmer and less certain. Thankfully the repairs were made before it became full-on night time. Not that we wouldn't have enjoyed huddling and cuddling around the light together, but the furnace was also not working and it has been pretty cold this winter.
This morning when I woke I didn't feel very good. Not sick but not good. I don't know if that makes sense or not. I read my Bible and thought about posting a blog but that feeling was keeping my motivation, mental capacity, and my spirit down. When my wife (in the picture above) came downstairs to start her day she asked me if I was feeling well. I told her that I didn't feel sick but that I didn't feel good. She expressed a similar feeling. Neither of us slept well. We both had troubling dreams throughout the night and we both had physical complaints. I asked her if she would like me to pray for her and she said, "Let's pray for each other", and that is what we did.
I expected to be heard but I didn't expect the moving of the Spirit that took place. Like that day the lights went out we both needed light to be turned on to push away the darkness, gloominess, shadow that threatened the day. As we prayed the Spirit inside us both caused us to go from looking parallel at each other and expressing our needs to our Healer, to gazing upward toward the Source of the Light that was pushing the shadows further and further away. We found that we had gone from being requesters to worshipers.
I started the blog with a question, what do you do when its dark? The answer is pretty simple. You turn on a light! In Psalms 113:1-4 the word PRAISE is used repeatedly as Halal. One of the shared meanings is to Shine and to Flash Forth Light. The darkness that threatened our day would likely not have been a thick darkness that obscured everything. But there was a shadow being cast over us both and the shadow would likely have lengthened and diminished the possibilities of the day. A long time back there was a song by Petra that had a verse that said:
Sometimes a shadow, dark and cold
Lays like a mist across the road
But be encouraged by the sight
Where theres a shadow
Theres a light!
This is not a new thought, that Praise is the answer, but it is what we (Darla and I) enjoyed via the Grace of God and our life in Christ. Having received the Spirit of adoption we have been made branches of the true Vine and grafted into the Olive tree, no longer strangers to the promises of God, but we are heirs and joint heirs with God. I thank God that my sister Karen and brother-in law WeWoy (LeRoy) led me to the Masters feet. Every joy, blessing, recovery, prosperity, and hope that I have today has roots that go back to the cross of Christ. We may have many teachers in the Gospel, but we dont have many parents. My sister and her husband are my mom and dad in the Gospel. I have some stories for another day about how much my discipleship cost their family (they let me live under their roof for a year). I know it was not easy for them or their kids. Nobody can make this trip on their own. We need the body of Christ!!
OK, I am beginning to wander so I am going close with this. "Arise Shine!, for thy Light is Come: and the Glory of the Lord is Risen upon thee!" If darkness or shadow is threatening your day, start a Raging Blaze of Praise!( hey that would look good on a t-shirt). God Bless You!
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