Don’t know about you, but we’ve had some crazy weather for our area this winter. Usually we’re lucky if we get snow. This year we got more than our share. OK, sure, not like a “Chicago winter,” but abnormally cold and snowy for us. Usually we have lots of cold, gray skies 
and enough rain to make people think it rains “all the time.” That’s good. Because when the sun comes out — like it finally is today, and the skies are blue — like they finally are today — there’s no place on the earth we’d rather be. And mostly we want to be outside — even with frost on the ground one week into Spring.
Our church has recently made a move from meeting in a movie theatre to meeting in a brand new commons space at our local high school. We gave up cup holders for windows. Lots of them. And our pastor has been talking about light…a lot.
He reminded us that the very first words God spoke were about light. He didn’t say “ta da!” or “shazam!” He simply said “let there be light.” And there was light. With that light came life…and purpose…and hope…and darkness has been shrinking from that Light ever since.
The ministries we serve work in places where there is so much darkness. Children who have had their parents fail them, the foster care system fail them, who have no hope. Families who find themselves facing life on the streets because of a lost job and inability to make rent. The elderly who have to choose between prescription drugs or buying groceries. Young teens who think they have a right to hurt others because of the terrible abuses they suffered when they were young children.
These ministries serve people who have hard lives most of us couldn’t imagine. They bring light into the lives of these people. They share love. They offer hope. They show a way out of the darkness.
On days like today, we feel blessed to get to live where we live with such a visible reminder of this light that God brought into the world, serving the ministries we serve who daily work to demonstrate God’s gift of light.
A few years ago, Switchfoot wrote a song called “The Shadow Proves the Sunshine.” If you’ve never heard it, it’s worth a listen.
It’s one of those songs that we really had to think about. But when you do…when you really think about it…you see that without light, no shadows are possible. We can reach the conclusion that in all darkness there exists the possibility of light. So don’t give up hope. The lost are not lost. They are just waiting to be found. The hopeless are just waiting for hope. The hurting just need someone to show them a way not to hurt anymore.
Tell us about your favorite ministry or charity and what they are doing to bring light into the shadows.
Hoots and Thomas
(photo credits: M&D Thomas)
