I’m willing to bet you require some Light today, whether it be a broad beam illuminating the way or just enough to find the door out of the dark room where you have been developing your negatives. Many times it is a small gap in the heavy drapes or the flicker of a candle which evaporate the darkness.
As much as Light defines our natural world, it is also the lifeblood of our spiritual quest. But how do we position ourselves to let the presence fill every recess of our hearts, shine into every dark corner? The obvious comes to mind, being available, being open, asking and then listening. But I think there is more…
Answers sometimes come from the most unexpected places. Like a Leonard Cohen song (I know, relax). The lyrics go something like this:
“there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”
Cracks? Like not having it all together?
C’mon, since Adam was a boy I’ve been taught that cracks are bad, flaws equal weakness and that perfection is the highest goal of man (and woman). Not sure about you, but I paper and epoxy over any sign of a crack, hiding my frailty at all cost. We wear the masks, and wear them well. And yet, history and scripture tell the story of people for whom personal brokenness paved the way to redemption.
Could it be that our cracks and flaws are shining beacons of just how much we need Him? Maybe the stone in your shoe is related to a failing in character, a besetting behaviour you cannot rid yourself of, an ailing business or a life-altering result from your doctor’s rooms. Maybe it is due to some external circumstance or person. Yet, like a nerve connected straight into the core of our being these fissures, if you will let them, can be conduits of light which reach to directly to the source. The warm, healing rays are capable of burning away the damp and cleansing us through unmerited love, grace and acceptance.
Like a roll of film, expose your negatives to the Light today. Stand broadside and throw open the doors. As unintuitive as embracing your weakness may sound, it is part of your decrease and His increase. When we become willing to be known for who we really are, His strength in us will become known too.
I’ll leave you with Sam’s response from Lord of the Rings when he, amidst all the hopelessness, saw a single star glimmering above the darkness of Mordor:
“The beauty of it smote his heart as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. . . . Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master’s, ceased to trouble him. He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo’s side, and putting away all fear he cast himself into a deep and untroubled sleep”
Glory to Him
WS
PS: Something to add, or a bone to pick? Your thoughts are appreciated as always 