Little Light Lessons

I love my daughter, and I love my son…even though he isn’t quite here in the “breathing on his own” sense (due to arrive in December).  I love the joy that they bring.  The fun I have with Arianna, the tickle fights, watching her explore, and that wonderful giggle.  

I recently went to a conference and as many conferences do, I received a bag full of goodies, you know, free stuff.  One of the things I received was a small flashlight.  It had a small band of Velcro so you could wrap it around your finger.  There is really no practical use for the light, but it was used for some fun at the convention.  I brought the goodies home and decided to let Arianna play with the little light.  I Velcro-ed it around her finger and then turned it on.  

She was amazed.  She played with it for over twenty minutes until we had to go to a family gathering. 

When we came back, I took her downstairs and she saw the light and wanted it again.  So I hooked it on her finger again.  The difference was that this time it was night time and I turned off the lights.  

Arianna saw the world in a whole new way.  She was flashing the light everywhere.  She crawled into the nooks and crannies of the downstairs, explored her toys (the ones she plays with everyday), everything was new.  I turned on the lights about twenty minutes into the darkness, mind you, I am just sitting in the dark.  She pointed at the lamp, “NOOOOOOO!”  She had more exploring to do.

She played until she had to go through her night time routine that ends with “night-night” time.

That light was hers, it made old things new, it changed how she saw things, and it inspired her to explore the things that she thought she already knew.

I think sometimes in our faith, we feel like the Light is on (and He is) consistently.  Sometimes though, the Light becomes impersonal and a lot like a lamp that is always on in the room.  Sometimes we need a new perspective.  It is Light, that doesn’t change (Meaning, spiritually, there is only one source of our light and that is Christ), but it is a new perspective in the way that it becomes personal and “mine.”  We experience the things we seem to have always known, but now we don’t just know, we experience.  

I know that this is true for me, and it is a constant battle to abide in the experiential faith that I hunger for, long for, and need for survival rather than a static Christianity.  I know when the lamp comes on that I feel as though I am sliding back to the place (which isn’t wrong per se) where it is the knowledge light instead of the experiential light.  

I hope this makes sense.

When the lamp comes on I feel myself saying, “NOOOOO!” much like Arianna.  I want that closeness and the newness of spirit I feel when I feel Him leading me to see things in a new way.

We all have dry seasons, seasons of the lamp (if you will), but do we seek the season of the Light?  I find it to be a constant battle to not let God become wallpaper in my life, but to continually seek after His Spirit to refresh, renew, and reveal Himself in new and exciting ways like Arianna saw things in a new way with her little flashlight.  

“This little light of mine…I’m gonna let it shine…”