“Basement!” he shouts….

And races down the stairs.

But the basement is dark…

So he reaches as high as his three year old arms can stretch…

Pulls on a string….

And light appears…

To him it is a miracle.

He pulls the cord again and again…

Light…

Dark…

Light…

Dark…

He loves the basement…

Or more accurately…

He loves his toys in the basement…

But who plays with toys in the dark?

How can he keep his train on the tracks?

Or build a big tower from his blocks?

He pulls once more on the string…

Light.

Time to play!

He is a child of the light.

How different it can be for adults…

“Playtime!” we shout and dash to the darkness…

Who, we ask, will see what we do in the dark?

Who will know?

… Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:24

Yet even in the darkness, we yearn for the light…

Search for the light…

Wonder where we can find it…

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  Psalm 119:105

 Worry foolishly that the dark evil of the world has extinguished it…

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:5

Despair that darkness has overcome our individual lives…

Forgetting that Jesus promises…

…“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Forgetting that we are all children of light …

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.  1 Thessalonians 5:5

And that as children of light, God calls us to shine before the world…

…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Note: An original version of this post first appeared in 2017