Reflections On THE LIGHT

Recently, God provided the opportunity for me to have a retreat at Myrtle Beach for a few days.?I had a plan for things related to my personal life and business that I wanted to accomplish that week, but God had other plans.?He spoke to my heart that week through His creation – in the clouds, the ocean, the sunshine, and even in the cold and rain.?He spoke through His Word, through the words of my friend who hosted me, and of the two other people whose stays overlapped mine.?At one point toward the end of my stay, I reflected on the truth that God had spoken to each of us about light.?He reminded us to always be looking for the light, that He (the light) is present even in the midst of darkness, that as believers in Jesus, our lives are to reflect His light in the world. During this season of Lent, our pastors are speaking to us about the “I AM” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John, and this past week was on “I AM the light of the world.” Such a powerful message! As Andy was speaking, I was reminded of the messages I heard at the beach, and thought I’d share some of what I took away from that time.

One night, I wanted to check to make sure the safety lock was set on the door of the suite we were in.?To do so, I needed to go into the room where another woman was sleeping. It was very dark, but I didn’t want to wake her by turning on a light or even using my phone.?I tried to get my bearings when I walked into the room, but at times, a very dark space makes me feel claustrophobic, and I become very disoriented.?That’s what happened that night, and I began to panic.?I fumbled around trying to find the wall so I could feel for the door and get the lock set, and ended up banging my shoulder on the corner.?Then I panicked more, thinking I was going to wake the other person, and the darkness began to feel thick and heavy.?At that moment, I saw the light from the peephole.?I focused on that light, and was able to get myself reoriented and lock the door.?Once I was oriented again, finding my way out was much simpler.?All of this took only about 5 minutes at most, but it felt like an eternity. When I got back into the other room into the light, I felt pretty silly that I allowed myself to become so overwhelmed and even panicky just because it was dark and the room was unfamiliar.?But the Holy Spirit spoke quietly into my heart, reminding me that in difficult and dark times in life, it’s easy to feel like the darkness will swallow you up.?You fumble around, panicking, feeling like you’ll never find your way out.?But when you stop and look for the light – to look for Jesus in the midst of your distress, He will guide you through it.?Sometimes the challenge feels heavy and thick – like trying to swim through dark, murky waters, but just as the light that shined through that peephole in the door provided just what I needed that night, the light of Jesus will ALWAYS shine into our darkest moments, and provide just what we need to make it to the other side of them.

One morning after a stormy night, we watched the sunrise. The clouds were beautiful, but thick and dark, and at first it looked like we wouldn’t be able to see the sun rise.?But we knew it would come up, because that’s what the sun does every day.?So, we kept watching the sky, and saw the light appear at first as just pink shades behind the dark clouds, then as brighter light peeking through slits in the dark.?The Lord reminded me that this is how it is with Him.?His light is always present, even when we can’t see Him.?Even when it’s so dark and stormy that it seems impossible that He could make a way for us.?Just like the sun always rises, Jesus will ALWAYS be there to light our path.?Sometimes His presence doesn’t feel obvious.?But we can TRUST that He WILL NOT let us down.?He WILL shine through.?Just watch.?

All of us who shared time at the beach that week took notice of how the way we saw the light from the sun changed from day to day and based on the time of day.?The light was always there, but the way we perceived it - the colors in the sky and the way the sunlight reflected off of the water-?was different if it had been stormy the night before, or if a storm was on the way, or if the sky was blue and clear. I thought about how Jesus is ALWAYS present in my life, but the ways in which He displays His presence and the ways I perceive it are different based on my circumstances.??There have been times in my life, and because we live in a broken world, I imagine there may be more, when it seemed that Jesus was far away.?These different images were, for me, His gentle reminder that He is always, always the same.?Always present.?Always lighting the way.?He is faithful, and the ways in which He makes His presence known are always beautiful.?I just need to stay focused on Him and to look for how He shows up.

Another evening, my friend and I were sitting on the beach enjoying the beautiful evening sky, listening to the waves rolling in, and to be honest, shivering in the chilly breeze.?The view was so beautiful, though, that we stayed, just soaking it all in. ?As she turned to say something to me, I saw the reflection of the skyline in her sunglasses, and decided I wanted a picture of the reflection in mine. ??As I looked at the image, I saw that the reflection in my sunglasses was a bit different from the one in hers because we were looking in different directions and at different things, and thought about the truth that we reflect whatever we focus on. God reminded me that we are to be reflections of His love and light in a world that desperately needs it, and that in order to do that, I need to keep my eyes and my heart focused on HIM.?Psalm 37:4 says that when we delight in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our hearts.?I heard a pastor say that that verse doesn’t mean He will give us all we want, but rather that when we delight in Him – focus on Him, spend time with Him – our heart desires become aligned with His.?Hebrews talks about keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, so that we can run this race with perseverance and finish well.??I want my life to look like that. To have my heart aligned with and excited about God’s plans and purposes in my life, to reflect His light and His love into this broken world, and to finish my race well.?

I’m so thankful for the ways God chooses to speak into our lives, and I hope that you’ve been encouraged as you’ve read these beach retreat reflections.??