Sunshine and Sharing: Living in the Light

This past weekend was filled with encouragement for me. I went to a small cabin/house with a bunch of girls from Penn State Navigators, and had an incredible time at "women's weekend." This time was incredible for me because it felt real; not only did I feel loved, accepted, and encouraged by the women I was with, but I also felt challenged, and perhaps even more importantly, I felt that they were being honest with me, and that it was safe to be honest with them. This is the essence of fellowship, and how community should be!! :)

The theme for the weekend was "Into the light," and we talked about how God brings us from darkness into light. We looked a lot at who God is (He is light!) and who we are in Him (children of light!). I am finding that I can never be reminded too often of God's character and of my identity in Him--it's absolutely vital for my every day life to bear these things in mind. 

Beyond reminders of important truths, I also feel I learned and experienced new things. The following analogy stood out to me, as I processed in a new way the power of Christ in me:

We are like candles, and God lights a flame in us. Even as Satan tries his hardest to extinguish this flame, the best he can do is attempt to deceive us, concealing the flame. He cannot put it out, because although he comes to kill, steal, and destroy, it is not his flame to take. No matter how occluded, the flame of Christ remains in us. 

This analogy reminds me of a really neat moment I had with God this past week. The sun was shining here in Happy Valley (only a recent occurrence, after several months of rather dismal looking skies). I found myself with some extra time between two meetings, and so I decided to journal on a bench in the sunshine. As I journaled, I noticed the sun behind some clouds. It was pretty, but also a bit chilly, as the clouds blocked the direct sunlight from hitting my bench (see picture 1 below!). Shortly thereafter, the clouds drifted away from the sun, and I was nearly blinded when I tried to take a picture of it as it covered me in sudden warmth (see picture 2 below!). From these moments of watching the sun and clouds, an analogy of my walk with God came to me. At times, my sin acts like clouds and covers up the brightness of God in my life. Although He has not moved, He feels distant because the clouds of sin block His warmth from reaching me. They cannot fully cover His presence, only try to dim it, as He shines out from behind the clouds and by His light I see my surroundings. He is always shining, always present. But when I leave behind my sin, the clouds fade away and I better receive His warmth and feel His presence!

In both of these analogies, God is light :) All throughout scripture He is called, and calls Himself, light. My current personal favorite verses (Ephesians 5:8, 14b) on this subject read: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light...'Wake up, sleeper,

    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.'”

In hearing the stories of women who chose to be vulnerable and share how God has brought them from darkness into life, I was challenged to live as a child of light. In their love and understanding of my own darkness, I felt filled with strength and hope that, in the power of Christ, I CAN live as a child of the light. I can choose daily to walk toward the light and to trust that God is always present, and that I have His light shining in me.

To tack on one last point to this haphazardly organized entry, share your stories of darkness and light with others. As powerful as the verses and lessons I heard this weekend were, what had the most profound impact on me was to hear the personal stories of other women. To hear their accounts of how God has redeemed dark situations, events, and sin in their lives and brought them into light was so encouraging! I cannot explain to you how incredible it felt to share with a small group of those women the darkness I have experienced in my own life. It was incredible because they understood, and treated me with grace and no judgement. Several of them have stories of darkness just like mine, and I know that the same God is bringing all of us into the light, no matter what our own darkness looks like.

Look for the ways that God wants to usher you into the light, and use whatever darkness you experience to bring you closer to Him. What Satan intends to use to separate you from God, simply cannot. Look at the evidence of light all around you...in nature, in the stories of others, in your story. Know that He is light, and you are His. Let us live as children of light in the Lord! :)