The light shines and we reflect it
I sat on the deck in the warm evening, just to catch the last streak of sun on the western horizon. I thought if it was the fall equinox with equal light and dark that I should count the light for as long as I could.
It seems there have been several “reach for light” experiences lately. One is my friend Donna. She is a walking piece of light. She's certainly faced down her nights; last week was another one. A very risky surgery — one with a cardiologist, a neurologist, an oncologist, and an infectious disease specialist weighing in. All for an orthopedic procedure.
We talked between Anchorage and Idaho the night before. Of course, the elephant on the phone was whether this was our last conversation. We looked toward the light, what could be, how God's faithfulness had extended her horizon in the past — and could again. I lingered in the sound of her voice as long as I could.
Donna woke up. Within a couple of days, she wrote, “Your prayers are powerful. I made it through. Recovery is going to be long and I've been feeling down about it.” I texted back, “It is God who is powerful. Recovery is your gift from Him.” Today I heard from someone there with her, “Donna is doing much better than expected. Much.”
Another far different episode of reaching for an extra bit of light was a request for an airline ticket refund. I hadn't flown for unexpected health reasons. The refund was a mere fleck for the airline, but significantly helpful for current family needs. Twice the request was denied — the second time asking that I accept it as their “final response.”
I could have and thought, “The sun has set on that one.” Yet I reached out one more time and was more detailed about my position, but courteously so. I had no idea if my email would even get read.
Frankly, I was shocked days later when my inbox showed a reply asking for a letter — on official letterhead — from my cardiologist stating why I was not to fly. I was to attach it to that communication for “faster service.” The airline had overruled its “final response.”
Light is present in so many places, in so many ways. I've always loved its nature show. But the word itself has expanded to mean any goodness. The Bible's book of John, introducing Jesus, opens with, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overpower it.”
No equinox here. I can have all the light I seek year around.
I was not given a physics brain but I've recently learned something light related called “total internal reflection,” or TIR. This is why a diamond sparkles. Even if it's far from “scientific,” I'm adapting the principle in my own life. The Light shines and I reflect it.