Living Clearly

Every morning when I awake, I sit up, put my feet on the floor (while wincing over my aching back) and proceed to make our bed. I then walk over to the windows to open the curtains.

With our master bedroom right above the garage and three large windows facing the street, you can imagine the abundant light that comes into our room.

A vast brightness appears immediately.

For me personally, a sort of fog vanishes and I am quickly enlivened.

It’s as if I was carrying a heavy load that has been lifted and I am now free to move happily and clearly.

At various points in life and particularly during these days, many people could feel a burden of one kind or another, prompting the desire for a sense of peace to enter their lives.

Seemingly overwhelmed with demands or expectations – from others or ourselves – so many of us can seek comfort for our worries.

Amidst all the scrambling, one could begin to despair, believing their weight will only increase.

As sung in the church hymn City of God, however, we need only to turn to the Lord for a path of light to shine through any darkness. (Isaiah 9:2)

Receiving God’s light should not suffice, though. We must also display it in order to reap its benefits.

Just as each day is a perfect gift from Heaven, we have daily opportunity to live with the light of Christ through how we live with others.

Recognizing this, we can accept God’s invitation to figuratively open the curtains of our lives and let His light shine around us.

Every day, we are called to take advantage of so many chances available to live in God’s love by showing and sharing it. (1 John 4:16)

It might seem hokey, but ordinary yet powerful gestures like smiling at someone passing by can help provide a noticeable bounce in our step, revealing God’s eternal light radiating from us.

With uncertainty and anxiety covering our world today, such simple actions as offering a friendly greeting can warm the heart of another while helping us further live our ultimate identity as reflections of God.

In this time of social restrictions, mirroring God by living His light is a practice that should never cease.