“Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space.
It does not seek anything in return;
it asks not whether you are friend or foe.
It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.”
Michael Strassfeld
From Well for the Journey’s Daily Faith quotes
Light intrigues me. It’s the light of early morning and late afternoon that hypnotizes me most often – takes me to thin places…where the air between the physical and spiritual world is separated only by a sheer veil. I love to watch the light slowly bathe the earth…joining all of creation, coming out to welcome the light’s warmth. And I love how light slowly withdraws from the day, touching the earth as a lover – gently pulling away until only fingertips touch, longing for the next time to embrace one another. I love to watch the light play, creating shadow art on earth and painting the sky with unbelievable hues. I love to watch light dance with clouds and mist, gracefully moving and bending…humbly highlighting its dance partner.
And there are endless discoveries within light…about light: from my artist brother – helping see the beauty of light within an object instead of objects as just object; from my photographer friend – to do my par to be ready for the light…to be in place…to be alert and then to wait on the sweet light of dawn and dusk; from my chip carving friend – how to cut away what is not needed so that light may wash over…mingle with what has been cut to reveal beautiful designs. I have learned much from reflected light and awed by billions of lights flung in the dark sky – seemingly so small to my eyes but larger than my imagination can fathom, reaching through light-years to touch me.
I love the mystery of light – surprising me…gifting me with displays of unexpected beauty. Even when nature (or we) tries to cover light…to conceal it…light seizes the opportunity to play and dance with obscurity…to color the sky with designs I could never imagine…to inspire.
Then there are those times when we think Light has left us…when there are unending days of cloud and rain…when it seems there’s no way Light can or will sift through…when light is illusive. Even in these times, somehow…from somewhere… something calls us to reach deep within and draw from the Light that burns in our core…the Light we’ve known…the Light that knows us and knows us. And even when our gaze cannot look that deep, the warm glow of community gathers round us…those who walk the way with us. We see the Light reflected by and in others, giving us hope in our deepest darkness. For even in darkness, what Light has touched incubates…cradling life…making preparations to give birth – for what incubates in darkness longs for the Light.
The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.
John 1:1-5
The Message (Eugene Peterson)
My artist brother – Dale Cochran
My photographer friend – Joye Durham
My chip carving friend – John Ballenger
(links can be found in the margin of this page)
Along The Way 