Light of Dawn

The light of dawn is almost imperceptible at first. The darkness hangs like a weight, distorting the familiar world around me in its shadow. But suddenly I blink and realize that light has come. It is a gray light, hopeful and quiet. And then the golden, bright light finally appears, a breath of release into the morning air. It shows the purple budding flowers, the long limbs of trees, the silhouettes of little toys and porch railing.

It’s hard to walk in darkness. We can bruise our shins, trip, stumble. We feel weak and unsure. And the shadows create a feeling of dread and fear within our hearts. If we hurt ourselves, we cannot see to tend to the wound. And we certainly can’t see those walking beside us.

But the light? The light illuminates. With it, we can see where we place our feet. We can see down the  meandering path to where our final home is. We can see that those things that struck fear in our hearts in the shadow, hold nothing to fear in the light. And we can see that we are not alone – and that we can hold hands with those walking beside us, strengthening each other.

But, the light, too, is indiscriminate. Just as I can see the good things, I can now also clearly see the bad: My own sins, bad habits, imperfections. But in the light, I can allow the Great Physician to do spiritual surgery. To purify what’s dirty, to cut out what needs to be thrown away, to bind up what is hurt.

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone. ~ Isaiah 9:2

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “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

May we ever walk in the light with Him.

Photo by Alexandre Brondino on Unsplash