“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” -Ephesians 5:13
In Texas the summers can drag on, hot and dry, baking the ground and hardening our hearts until we beg for mercy and a cool front.
Yesterday, the hot sun bore down on us all day long. Then at 5:00, a miracle happened. Rain fell hard from partly cloudy skies.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen rain and sunshine at the same time here in Austin. But there it was.
The rain fell down and I felt the sun light up my own life anew. I stared in wonder and thought, “This is just the way my life is these days.”
One minute I am weary of the hardness of it all, stifled by the blazing hot air. Then unexpected showers of grace fall, and like my children in the rain and sun, I dance beneath them.
Light shines when we least expect it, and that Light is the life of all people. If we stand and wait, exposed to the Light long enough, we become illuminated by the power of Christ.
We shine on…
…for dreary days when the hooks of loneliness knock on our doors.
…for critical looks that pierce and shred.
…for cruel words that haunt and nag.
…for our tempers that rage and wound those we love most.
…for all the times we see how far we have fallen into darkness.
The Light shines and fills us with love and gratitude and a good dose of faith and perspective.
Rain on a sunny afternoon. Water and life and blessing in the middle of hard, dry days. This is what it is like to love Jesus.
This is what it means to shine.
