GOD'S LIGHT without the GLARE

10/23/13 Prepping for my upcoming “Heart To Heart” Bible study lesson, I have become so aware of the need to “sit in the light.”  The light of the Presence of the Lord. This requires the disciplines of solitude, silence, listening and meditation. I’m convicted that I need to SLOW down my life in order to do this. Distractions, even good ones, need to be tempered.

Full Hunter's Moon

Last week (10/18/13) this difficulty was evident in a somewhat ordinary real life situation. There was a glorious moon out and I wanted a full view of this incredible FULL moon. But…..the glare of the streetlight obscured my view.

A glaring, harsh light distracted me from seeing God’s light of the night. It reminded me of the distractions I was facing each day as I tried to seek ”light” from His word. Sometimes the busyness and distractions of the world seem blinding, inescapable even, especially when I’m trying to seek the One who is the “Light.”

A change of direction was needed. I had to take action. In my study time I had to disconnect from the strong overwhelming pull of the blinking light of all my electronic devices and even my old land-line. Just like I had done the night of the Hunter’s Moon.*

That night I had to go to the back yard where it was not only dark but also quiet in order to see and fully appreciate the splendor of that moon. No Glare. Distractions removed. View accomplished. Wowed by God’s handiwork!

* The next morning as I went out to get the newspaper, the moon, though not as brilliant, was still very much in view because the streetlights had faded.
God's light without the glare.

PERIPATETIC MOVEMENTS

8/19/13 Peripatetic is a Ronnie Steven's 50¢ word. He has a trove of them. It aptly describes my movements this summer, though I would use "hither and thither" to chart my journeys. Maybe even hither, thither and yon.

The journeys away from home have seemed to go in all directions yet they were meaningful and worth while because the purpose was to spend time with family and dear friends. Fait accompli.

But....the time at home, in between those trips & treks, has had me here, there and everywhere. Not much (purposeful, at least) accomplished. Running from pillar to post, as my grandmother, Gena, would have said---a linear description of walking in circles and therefore accomplishing very little. 

So what's the remedy? Meditation.

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. (Psalm 119:15)

God can redeem the time lost in my peripatetic, helter skelter, chaotic life when I take time to sit at His feet, head bowed and Bible opened on my lap. He can work everything together for good.....for His purposes. Even my hither and thither life style.