Turn on the Light This Instant!

I’ve lived in the same apartment now for 15 months. (This is a record for the longest I’ve lived anywhere in the past four years. But that’s beside the point.) Something that has bothered me all 15 months is the dungeon that is my master bedroom.

I have huge, four-inch thick pads of foam smashed against the window for soundproofing purposes, and that means not a lick of sunlight comes in. That’s no big deal; I don’t spend enough waking time in my bedroom to want to look outside the window (and into a parking lot, mind you). But when I am awake in my bedroom, I do need to see what’s in the room. I have one ceiling light, and it has thrown a very dull and weak, yellowish-hued glow immediately onto my bed below it. It has never had enough oomph to light up anything else, leaving my room dark and shadowy.

I tried not to let this bother me for 15 months. Though I have a box of spare light bulbs in my closet, it never dawned on me to change the bulb until maybe 2 months ago (I’m blonde, you know). Then, for two months I would say things to myself like, “You hardly spend enough time in the bedroom to warrant a new bulb. Just wait ‘til the current bulb burns out.”  Or, because I knew I couldn’t change the bulb on my own (again, I’m blonde), I would think, “Submitting a work order to the maintenance crew is a hassle. Just make do with what you’ve got. It’s not that bad.”

But I was never happy in my gloomy bedroom. Even turning on my table and floor lamps in addition to the ceiling light left me feeling stuck under heavy clouds. Finally, one day I kicked myself in the pants, fired up my laptop and submitted the work order to my leasing office. Then I went to my closet and dug out my spare light bulbs to find the brand I had on hand was Philips Natural Light: “Provides light similar to natural daylight.” This sounded good.

When I got home from work less than 24 hours after submitting the request, I walked into my bedroom … flipped the switch ...  and?! … was nearly blinded. The entire room – not kidding – shone like the mid-day sun! Rays of crystal clear, shining white light blazed into every nook and cranny of the room. I couldn’t even look up because the source was so bright. My entire countenance lifted and I let out a yelp of glee. Suddenly, standing in my room lifted my spirits rather than dampened them. All thanks to a different bulb.

Is the room of your life currently dark and dreary? Are your shoulders drooping as you observe your surroundings? Are your excuses piling high, justifying your sense of being stuck? What if, if you could change nothing in your room, you could perhaps change the light by which you see those things? And what if you didn’t even have to do the work? Would you consider asking the Holy Spirit to change your bulb, to give you the eternal Living Light?

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1: 4-5

"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

 

Don't Miss the Moments This Instant!

Ever since college I’ve had a heart for college-aged young adults. There’s just something about that time of life – curiosity is piqued; eagerness to learn burns; impressionability rules; and an unquenchable optimism about the future radiates.

When I graduated from college, I threw myself into my career. Monday through Friday I would check in at the office, greet a few folks, and settle in for day in front of my computer, in my solitary little cubicle. I did what I was trained to do. I wrote. I edited. I communicated. I knocked out to-do lists. And ‘round and ‘round the world would turn.

About eight or nine years ago, I began to long for more LIFE in my work, more people contact. I thought about when I was most alive in my life, and realized it was during my college years. And college was still happening for countless young people everywhere – it wasn’t just a period in my personal past.

So I began to knock on doors. I didn’t want to be a professor but I did want to work as a college campus staff member, where interacting with students and impacting lives could be a part of my daily life. I continued to work my day job as I sought out job opportunities on college campuses. One day led into one year, and one year led into nearly a decade. That’s how long I actively pursued this dream that was on my heart, but to no avail.

Then one day, God said yes.

He opened the door at a Christian college in my hometown, a place I never imagined I would ever return. But here I am. I work in a busy, pressure-filled office, and I hammer out multiple to-do lists in lightning speed. Unlike my writing and editing jobs, I have much people interaction. People call and people stop in. Interruptions are the name of the game. But I’ve noticed I don’t embrace these interruptions like I once dreamed I would. Instead, I have resentment that people are keeping me from my to-do list! The worst part is, this attitude can carry over to the very students for whom my heart beats, the ones that I for years longed to have access to.

Are you perhaps living your big dream but missing the little moments you couldn’t wait to experience? Are you married but consumed with your spouse’s imperfections, rather than the companionship s/he brings you? Did you always want to be a parent but find yourself now frustrated by your kids, rather than thankful for the gift of life they bring into your home? Are you in the career you worked so hard to obtain but find the daily pressures keep you from enjoying the things that drew you to it in the first place? Are you empty inside because you got what you always wanted … but lack the perspective that allows you to cherish it?

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10: 41 (NLT)